Heading Home
by Daisuke Shadow Kitsune
Summary: During an encounter with the Akatsuki, both Neji and Naruto are thrown into a new world. Together they journey through this new land to acquire the keys to the Temple of the Gods so that they may return home.NarutoNejiSasukeShikamaru ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**This Chapter has been Edited for spelling and grammatical errors**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor anything related to that series.

**A/N: **This is my first try at a Naruto story, though I do have it posted on another fanfiction website using the same user name. Forgive me if it is stupid, or if I have messed anything up. Fair warning, I've only seen the first 6 episodes, though I've read hundreds of fanfics, so I'm pretty sure I can pull this off. Please Review.

**Warning:** This story will contain mature themes, such as male pairings, violence, course language amoung a variety of other things. You have been warned.

**Pairings: **The main pairing will be Naruto/Neji, though their will be others, though I'm not sure which other pairings at this point.

**Please Read and Review!**

On with the Chapter!

**Chapter 1**

The sun shone brightly, beams of light trickled past the lush green leaves. The shadows that were cast, moved as the trees swayed in a gentle breeze. All seemed quiet and peaceful, but underneath the sweet relaxing aura of it all, there was a small, nearly unnoticeable tenseness.

Six dark blurs darted between trees and bushes, moving so fast they were indistinguishable to untrained eyes. One of the blurs came to a halt behind a towering oak tree.

It was a young boy no older than 13, and despite how dark the blur looked, this boy was the exact opposite. His hair was a golden yellow, which resembled the sun above, his eyes, like the sky, were a dazzlingly, brilliant and clear blue.

His skin was a golden color, kissed by the sun. He wore a blindingly bright orange jumpsuit that had a red spiral on the back and the darkest item on hom was the silver metal and blue cloth of his ninja band which rested nicely on his forehead.

A sly look adorned his face, ascented by the scar like whiskers on his cheeks. "Naruto in position." he said into the microphone piece which was attached around his neck and left ear.

"Sasuke in position." Another voice came through the radio as a another blur came to a stop near to the first boy, revealing a raven haired one. His dark eyes shone out in contrast to pale skin as he regarded their target with keen eyes. He reached his hand into a pouch attached over top of his white shorts on his right leg. His shirt, which was a complimenting dark blue, and his ninja band which was the same as the other boy's, seemed to complement the white and dark look he had going.

"Sakura in position." A female voice rang over the system as the pink haired, green eyed girl came to a halt behind a cluster of bushes. The green of the leaves complimented her red dress and looked serene next to her white shorts. Though it did look odd with her blue ninja band and brilliant pink hair.

"Tenten in position." Another female voice came over the radio as a fourth blur came to a halt behind a decent sized rock, eyes just barely peeking up over the top, and her brown hair which was kept in buns merely looked like extra bumps on the rock.

"Lee in position." A bouncy male voice sounded as a green spandex-wearing boy crouched under some large upturned roots; his black bowl cut hair looked odd from his station, though his big busy unibrow did resemble a fuzzy caterpillar.

"Neji in position." A handsome voice sounded next as an attractive boy stopped high above the ground hidden in the trees. He was surprisingly tall for his age and he carried an air of maturity and wisdom. His hair was black, long and flowing, his pale almost white slightly purple eyes gave him an air of mystery. On his forehead he proudly wore a ninja band, which was the same as the other five. His outfit was a simple top with a high neck and black shorts, nothing fancy, but they served their purpose.

"Both teams are all in position then." A male voice stated, though it sounded almost absent minded as its owner was a ways away reading his little orange book called Icha Icha Paradise. It was a dirty type of book, with contents that no young child such see, however it was alright for him as he was a full grown man.

"Excellent!" A male voice said, one that was similarly bouncy to Lee's. "Such a wonderful day for a mission, the sun is shining, the winds is blowing, and the heat is in the air!" He concluded happily into the microphone with a happy go grin on his face. ((A/N: I've only seen the first 6 episodes, so I appolgize if I make any or all characters seem out of character. I am trying so please don't shoot me.))

"Indeed Gai-sensei." Eyebrow boy exclaimed quietly in agreement.

"Let's start." Neji smoothly cut in, ready to get this mission over and done with.

"Right." The perverted male said distractedly.

In another bout of blurs, all six young teens leapt out of their positions towards their target: a ginger coloured cat.

Naruto was the first to arrive, having left his position before the others, and managed to capture the cat, only to have it brutally claw him to pieces."Gahh!" He screamed. After some painful cuts he accidentally released the cat.

Sakura and Lee simultaneously dove towards the creature, though they crashed headfirst into each other, leaving the two of them sprawled out dazedly on the ground.

In the confusion of the events, Neji managed to scoop the creature up into his arms, weary of its claws. "Mission accomplished." Sasuke spoke into the radio, and suddenly both Gai and Kakashi, the perverted teacher, appeared in front of them.

"Excellent! The magic of youth proves itself again!" Gai said cheerfully, while Naruto merely groaned. Seconds later the two dazed individuals were once again standing.

They silently ran through the forest, travelling over the trees, and soon enough the group of six students and two teachers arrived back at their home village Konoha, The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Once there, they made their way to the Hokage's tower where they returned the ginger coloured cat to it's owner.

"I don't get why we had to go with another team for a stupid, simple D rank mission." Naruto complained angrily as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned around, showing his back to everyone.

"I mean we're Chunin, having passed the exams not too long ago. You'd think they wouldn't send us on anymore D ranked missions, especially after all we've done, not to mention actually pairing us up with an older team like we are incapable of catching one little cat. Since we **are **above the Genin level, we should have B ranked missions, maybe even A." Naruto whined to himself though his team mates ignored him and his teacher sighed.

"That was a test." Kakashi informed them quietly, and all six teens looked at him. "It was to see if our two best Chunin teams could work together on a really big and dangerous mission." He added as an after thought.

"And you all did excellent," Tsunade said with a smile on her face, her eyes looking over the blond boy with a motherly look. "meaning were are giving you a B ranked mission together." Being the Hokage, it was in her power to make such choices.

"What's our mission going to be Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked politely.

"I'm sending you to Earth Country. There you are to find a stolen item, which holds massive powers and was previously sealed within a highly protected cave. The perpetrators were two men who's names we do not know.

"The item in question is called the Chaos Sphere. It's purpose and powers remain unknown, though it is highly dangerous meaning you must hurry and retrieve it before anything bad happens." Tsunade finished.

"Sweet! Finally a chance to prove I'm worthy of being the next Hokage!" The blond exclaimed as he leapt for joy, right fist punching happily into the air above.

"Dobe." Sasuke commented with no emotion, though the word definitely riled Naruto up.

"I dare you to say that again Sasuke-bastard!" He yelled hotly and threateningly shook hist fist in the raven-haired boy's direction, the hand on his shoulder, courtesy of Kakashi, was the only thing holding him back from jumping on Sasuke and pummelling him within an inch of his life.

"Naruto! Don't called Sasuke-kun that!" Sakura said in the other boy's defence as she whacked Naruto over the head. It was a well known fact that she was unbelievably infatuated with the young Uchiha Sasuke, as was a high percent of the female population.

The blond, who was shorter than both Sakura and Sasuke pouted, as he really liked Sakura, not wanting her to be upset with him. "He started it." He said with a frown.

The other team watched Team Seven's interaction in amusement, though Neji looked as passive as ever.

"My, what energy!" Gai shouted happily, successfully interrupting all squabbles. "Alright teams! Let's head out!"

"Right!" Lee shouted happily and both nature loving persons walked out, the others silently following.

Once they were outside the building they stopped and formed a circle. "Go home and pack whatever necessities you'll need for this trip then meet at the village gates in twenty minutes." Kakashi instructed them before they all disappeared, racing their separate ways.

Twenty five minutes later all eight of them stood at the gateway, and showed the guards their papers which permitted them all to leave. Then in blurs they took off into the forest, racing on the branches of trees. Despite their mind-boggling speed, it was only a relaxed pace.

They ran at the pace for hours straight, only taking an occasional break when needed for one reason or another. Once the sky had turned from blue to orange the Sensei of the group decided to call a halt to their travels.

"We will rest now, that way we won't become too exhausted." Kakashi informed them as he plopped down cross legged on a fallen over tree stump and pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise to resume reading.

"I'm starving!" Naruto exclaimed as he dropped his bag and plopped down next to it.

"You're always hungry Naruto." Sakura said exasperated as she rolled her eyes, causing the poor boy to pout.

"Alright! Tenten go collect some fire wood, Lee go hunting for some meat!" Gai ordered the two happily as he sat down and began setting up some stones and dirt into a safe fire holder so that they could always keep it controlled and not have to worry about causing a forest fire.

Tenten sighed, having hoped she would be able to sit down as she was worn out, though thought better of complaining, and turned to do as her instructor had bade. Lee on the other hand was still his bubbling ball of happiness and he eagerly went off in search for their evening meal.

Both Neji and Sasuke leapt off as well, their task was to set up traps surrounding their makeshift camp, which would catch any unwanted guest that wasn't smart enough to evade them. That just left Naruto, Sakura, and the two rival teachers.

Fortunately the four of them didn't have to wait long as Tenten hurriedly returned, hauling with her a mass load of branches and logs that would without a doubt last them through the evening and well into the morning.

"Excellent job Tenten!" Gai said happily as he snatched the load from the girl's arms and set it down well enough away from the place where he wished to start the fire. The girl merely nodded as she sat down beside the pink haired girl and the two proceeded to talk in low giggle-filled whispers, despite their obvious exhaustion.

Gai hurriedly stacked branches and logs into a better burning position within the small expedient pit, and soon enough it was ablaze casting orange and yellow light over the people around it, and creating darker, jagged, dancing shadows all about.

"I did it!" A voice exclaimed pridefully as Rock Lee walked into their camp a medium sized doe over his right shoulder; it clearly had a broken neck.

"Superb!" ((A/N: I decided to make him not use the word 'excellent' so very much cause now I'm starting to think he is a Mr.Burns jr. And before you ask, no I do not own the Simpsons either.)) Gai enthusiastically cried out while hopping to his feet to help his favourite pupil prepare their evening feast.

Naruto dug through his bag to retrieve a pot and filled it with all the water from his canteen before setting it over the fire. A few members of their ragtag group blinked and watched on in mild curiosity as the water slowly came to a boil, wondering what on earth the blond had planned.

Once the water was hot enough to suit him, he happily walked back over to his bag and set the pot down on the grass in front of him. He then dove through his bag and after a few moments he pulled back out with a triumphant sound, in his hand he held a cup of instant noodles.

Gai, Sakura, Tenten, and Lee all sweat dropped at that before shaking their heads and continuing on with what they had been doing before hand, while Kakashi merely ignored it all, too absorbed in his book to care, though he did see all that had just past.

Just as the blond Chunin pulled back the top of his cup, both Neji and Sasuke returned. "The traps are set." Neji said smoothly as he and Sasuke both took their seats.

"Perfect! Now we can all eat, drink and be merry, though no alcoholic beverages for anyone underage." Gai said happily as he and Lee quickly began cooking the meat.

Once the water was added to his cup, Naruto sat there impatiently for five minutes, counting each second in his head until his delicious treat would be ready.

"Naruto, are you going to have some meat when it's ready?" The fuzzy eyebrow teen asked as he regarded the boy who was gulping down his noodles with no etiquette what so ever, and at a pace that made others think he feared someone nicking his food. Any intelligent person would not put any part of themselves near the boy for fear of losing it in the fray.

"Yup!" He answered happily after having slurped down the remainder of his treat. "That was just an appetizer." He added as an after thought, and Neji regarded the boy with a sheen of amazement in his eyes, though barely noticeable as it disappeared a second later.

The females of the group merely blinked and shook their heads, wondering how it was possible to eat so much and still want more.

The evening meal passed by uneventfully, all were too busy thinking and eating to talk much, though there was the occasional polite conversation held, no one knowing what to speak about that they'd all like.

"First watch will go to your team Gai, a five hour shift, then we will have our shift afterwards, so wake us in time." Kakashi informed everyone before leaping up into a tree where he'd catch some shut eye.

Team seven followed likewise, Sakura and Sasuke both rolled out the blankets they packed before climbing in and going off to sleep.

Naruto on the other hand hadn't packed a blanket or sleeping bag, as he was naturally warm, all thanks to the nine tail demon the fourth Hokage had sealed within his stomach. The very creature that caused the cheerful boy to be scorned, shunned, hated, teased, beaten and abused, even though he was merely the container.

Despite his harsh treatment he harboured no resentment towards the people of Konoha, nor to the demon caged within himself. He wasn't fazed by much anymore, and so he moved a little further away from the flames to lie down.

Within a short amount of time, all of team seven, including their teacher, were fast asleep, though Naruto was slightly snoring, his limbs oddly outstretched.

And so the night passed Five hours in and team seven was awoken for their shift duty while the other team caught their much needed rest. Everything was quiet and uneventful, nothing hit the traps, and nothing was felt to have been spying on them. It was a peaceful night.

As morning dawned, the whole group was up and about, packing and removing all traces of their presence from the area, including the carefully set traps. It was a silent sunrise and soon enough they were back on track, racing out of the forest and across the borders.

They had reached Earth country and everyone was fully rested and prepared for their soon to commence mission. They wouldn't fail. The Hokage had faith they could do this, and they would.

Earth country had a much different landscape and air then Fire country, their home. It was strange, yet peaceful, welcoming them with seemingly widely stretched arms. It was nice.

"Are we there yet?" The blond demon vessel questioned, brilliant blue eyes locked onto the silver haired jounin.

"We are about five minutes away from out destination." Kakashi answered as he signalled for everyone to stop and they all complied.

"Lets see... How should we do this..." Gai mumbled to himself in thought.

"Well, we do know the brigands are still hiding, their location is the ruins a few minutes from here. They would more then likely stay at the centre of the place, and have multiple traps set up within the area and outside of it.

"Our best bet," Kakashi continued, "Is to split up into pairs, and each pair to head in from a different end. Gai and I will be one pair. Tenten and Sakura another. Sasuke and Lee the next, and that leaves Neji and Naruto. Here's the plan..." And so the man explained as they all nodded in compliance before each pair took off in their proper directions.

The blond and black haired teens moved into position just outside the ruins, both examining it closely.

"I can see many of the traps from here." Neji commented lightly, though Naruto merely blinked having noticed ever single trap. He was after all Konoha's number one prankster, so he was very keen in seeing plots and traps and setting them up flawlessly. Though he was surprised that Neji could see some as they were all excellently done. Of course not to the blond's level of perfection.

"That's the signal! Lets go!" Naruto exclaimed in an excited whisper as a flicker of light was seen from their teachers' position directly across on the opposite side of the ruins.

Neji and Naruto both moved in a delicate blur, the smaller of the two leading the way, and the older moving in the boy's foot steps so as not to trigger a single trap. They stealthily made their way into the ruined ancient dwelling.

In the distance the group could hear Sakura's scream, indicating that she must have hit a trap. The sound was very likely to alert their targets of an unwanted presence, though the two kept on the trail.

They dodged between doors, and fallen walls, shadows and other natural or unnatural crevices to aid in their concealment, all the while avoiding every trap on their route.

Within a few moments they arrived in the area that had signs of recent inhabitence, with worn trails, missing areas of dust and grime. They were definitely here, though question one was where, and question two: where was the sphere?

"Just up ahead." Neji informed Naruto, having seen the structure that had to be the place where the criminals resided

"Right." The boy mumbled back, noting the same building as it was pointed out. They moved swiftly and stealthily until they both had their backs pressed against the grimy and worn stones of the wall, one on either side of the glassless window.

The Demon Kyuubi's holder held up three digits, and slowly moved one down leaving only two fingers, then lowered another leaving only one. Once the last finger was down, they both leapt through the window, kunais held at the ready.

It was dark and musty inside, though there were obvious signs of human presence there just recently. There was fresh meat on a scrubbed, rickety looking table, a pile of uncleaned clothing stuffed on a chair, and many other miscellaneous items placed here and there that was a dead give away to the hideout.

After having both done a sweep with both their senses and chakra, they noted they were alone. The thieves must have been elsewhere, perhaps they had gone to see who had sprung their trap with such a shrill cry.

Sakura's clumsiness had gained them the perfect opportunity to search the place.

"Maybe they left the sphere here. Any idea what it would look like?" Naruto questioned, while the other inwardly sighed.

"No, though it would more than likely be a circular objet of sorts." The young Hyuuga sarcastically informed the boy and they both set off searching through the musty, and small one-room home.

Naruto ripped things quietly apart, turning his searched areas into complete disaster zones, while his partner was more proper, moving things aside gently, causing no brilliant messes to ensue around him.

A deep chuckle from behind caused them both to suddenly tense and spin on heel, kunai hastily in their hands.

Eyes roamed the room, though could not pinpoint the owner of that voice.

"Well, well, well... look what we have here." The same voice rang out from behind them and they swung rapidly around and came face to face with the voice's owner.

It was a man dressed in an all black attire, a billowing dark cloak around his shoulders. He stared at them from blood red eyes that were partially hidden in his silver bangs. His eye colour and extremely pale skin were a creepy contrast, and sent shivers down both the chunins' spines.

On his forehead, he too wore a ninja band, though the insignia on the front was far different, though still recognizable. It was Wave's symbol with a horizontale slash through it. He was a rogue ninja, quite possibly of the Akatsuki.

"I wasn't expecting such... young visitors." The man said to himself as a deranged smirk made it's way onto his pale face.

"We aren't young so don't underestimate us!" cried Naruto. If there was one thing that boy absolutely hated, it was being referred to as either a child or weak. He was neither.

"My... What a feisty one you are." The man said, his voice taking on a twisted edge.

"Where the hell is the sphere?" The blond demanded, eyes glued on the man, while Neji remained perfectly still, ready for action, fully aware that the thieves were never said to have been members of the vicious and evil shinobi group.

"You mean this?" The man stated as he reached into his cloak and withdrew a baseball size orb, one that had dark twisted reds and blacks running foggily beneath its glass surface. The light it gave out was omniscient, casting frightful shadows throughout the haunted looking dwelling.

"We'll take that off your hands now." Naruto said cheerfully as he held his free hand out expectantly for the sphere, causing Neji to inwardly sweat drop.

"Oh... I don't think so." The man whispered silkily, eyes alight with some unreadable look.

At that Naruto smirked. "That means we'll just have to kick your ass,_ then_ take it from you." He exclaimed happily, having looked forward to a fight since they were given this mission.

"An unwise move. You don't even know what this is, nor its purpose, nor its function." The silver haired ninja informed them with a sadistic smile.

"Like that matters!" Naruto shouted growing more angry by the second, though he had been trained not to rush into things head first like he always used to.

"Oh but it does." He whispered deeply eyes once again alight with that strange light. "This sphere is a dangerous weapon, and in the same time a powerful key. The bearer of it will be granted incredible powers. Perhaps enough to destroy this world and create a new one." He informed them with a note of happiness in his voice as he spoke of the chaos the one glass ball could bring.

"If that is true, why have you not yet used it?" Neji finally spoke up, wondering if the man had been merely leading them on, and lying about the orb's abilities, which did indeed sound far-fetched.

The man chuckled deeply, amusement clearly visible. "Simple. The orb... is choosy about the person it will bestow unrivalled prowess upon. Meaning that I and my partners have been unsuccessful in gaining such a gift.

"Though I have no doubt in my mind that our leader, the great Orochimaru, will be the one to gain such power. Then he will not only rule the Akatsuki, but the countries, not to mention the whole world, and heck, maybe even the entire universe." He explained happily, sounding like a proud brainwashed underling.

"He won't get the sphere! He has to get through us to get it!" Naruto growled, eyes narrowed, and body tense.

A sinister laugh escaped the ninja's throat. "Hah! The Akatsuki already hold the sphere, plus you two children don't stand a chance against me, Yomi, one of the most powerful shinobis in the entire organization." He smirked proudly.

"Why you bastard..." The blond boy snarled, as he launched his kunnai at Yomi, who side stepped the weapon with seemingly practised ease.

"You have guts. I'll give you that, but you won't get this sphere, nor will you prevent me from handing it to my leader." Yomi said smugly, crimson eyes dancing in mirth.

In a sudden movement both Naruto and Neji leapt forward with all the speed they could muster, aiming a combo assault at their opponent who merely disappeared in a puff of grey smoke, only to reappear behind them.

"Too slow." The man teased with a wicked grin.

"You won't beat us! We'll win!" Naruto declared hotly, eyes ablaze with deep determination to succeed, and his partner, Neji nodded sharply in total agreement, the same determination burning in his soul, though he kept that masked.

The room was suddenly filled with a fierce pulsing. Unsecured items were sent scattering, as a wave of dust moved out. Their battle came to a halt and all eyes moved down to the sphere in Yomi's hand.

Its colour had changed from its swirling reds and blacks, to a deep chaotic jumble of blue and white. It pulled itself from the hands of the Akatsuki member, and hovered air borne while both Neji and Naruto shifted closer to each other, to the point of their arms brushing lightly against each other.

A crazed smirk lit Yomi's face. "It awakens, it has chosen me!" He stated darkly, pleasure spinning through his dark eyes.

The sphere moved slightly higher before rotating, it was slow at first, though it gradually increased in momentum until it reached a blurred speed, the colours blending together to make it look a pale blue.

The three watched on in varying degrees of awe and shock, having never seen something quite like that.

A sound ripped through the air: the sound of cracking glass, and within seconds of the noise the sphere spilt perfectly in half, both sides separating away from the other slightly, one a whitish colour, the other a light blue.

Both halves continued their spinning, though the colours stayed unchanged. They began picking up a greater momentum, moving so fast that they couldn't see it so clearly. The speed gave the illusion that both halves were once again whole, but as two separate orbs. They were not two, but still one.

Without halting in their swirling dance, they hurtled themselves forward, moving in what looked like beams of white and blue light, striking both Neji and Naruto in the chest. As they impacted simultaneously against their chests, a massive explosion erupted.

It spread out in a powerful wave of molten heat and vicious flames, that destroyed the Akatsuki member, and tore the building they were in apart with ground shaking strength. But it did no stop there. The blast continued out, completely demolishing the ruined town as it swept outwards, burning all in its path.

The explosion only stopped as it neared the end of the city, its wrath having travelled all the distance it could, though that wouldn't stop it from burning all the land it now sat ruthlessly upon.

Luckily both Neji's and Naruto's teammates and teachers managed to escape from the blast with only a few cuts, scrapes, bruises. Tenten did get a small burn on her leg as she fled.

"What in the world happened!" Gai questioned loudly, eyes wide at the chared and still burning earth before them which stretched on a long ways.

"A massive explosion." Sasuke stated obviously, though his eyes were fixated upon the scene before them.

"Uh... Were are Neji and Naruto?" Lee questioned worriedly, eyes searching for their missing comrades.

"They were exactly where that massive blast started... I haven't been able to pick up their presences since." Kakashi said quietly, all eyes looking at him in shock.

"They...they...they're dead?" Sakura asked, her throat suddenly feeling tight.

"No..." Lee said shaking his head in denial.

"I'm afraid so..." Kakashi stated slowly, turning his head away from the destroyed area and from the others' sad, unbelieving looks.

"Neji-kun... no..." Tenten whispered to herself, eyes wide, and tears coursing unhindered down her cheeks, and dripped noiselessly down to the ground bellow. "It can't... It just can't be true! Neji can't be dead!" She declared brokenly as she crumbled to her knees, hands rising to cover her face as she sobbed her heart out.

Sakura immediately bent down beside the heartbroken grief struck girl, and gently wrapped her arm around her in a comforting manner, while tears of her own coursed down her pale cheeks. Together they sobbed in sorrow over their loses.

Lee was staring out at the burned patch, eyes filled with tears that too fell in honor of his fallen friends and comrade. He couldn't move. He was frozen, shock and disbelief crawling at his heart. His mind knew they were no longer within this world, that they had crossed over to the afterlife.

"No..." Lee whispered, his voice slightly choked.

Sasuke stood there, merely staring. He didn't outwardly look effected, but inside he was deeply shaken. Naruto was dead. His rival, his teammate, and his friend. The blond haired dobe was dead. Neji was dead too, though his death didn't seem to effect him as much, as the two weren't on particularly good terms.

Gai moved over to his favourite student and set a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder as he too stared out at the barren, and brutally charred land. Tears likewise were falling down his cheeks.

Kakashi merely stood there, unmoving, back facing the sight and the others. It was his fault. They were only following his plan. He sent Naruto and Neji to their deaths, though he hadn't meant too. He had caused more lives to be lost; he hated it. He had already lost so many people he cared for and now he lost a student whom he was supposed to protect.

He had failed. He had failed as a friend, he had failed as a teacher, he had failed as a ninja.

Sasuke shook his head, pulling himself out of his stunned state in the process. In a burst of speed he raced forward, unhindered as no one had the heart nor the will to bar his path. He raced into the scorched lands.

He hoped against hope that maybe, somehow they were still alive, and they'd suddenly just pop out perfectly fine, with the blond dobe screaming something along the lines of 'Gotta'cha! Can't believe you fell for that one!' ...Or something like that.

Dark blue, nearly black eyes combed the area, looking for a clue, a sign, a hint of them, though found nothing, only burnt earth, the occasional still burning flames, and nothing else.

All buildings and plants were pulverized, not even the item of their search was left.

The only good thing about this whole situation, was that all the Akatsuki members involved were wiped out. None took that into account, too grief struck to care.

It took Sasuke a good twenty minutes to return to the others, completely empty handed, though heavy hearted. It was indeed a sad day.

"We should head back." Gai said quietly, the tears finally gone as he pulled himself together. Now wasn't the time to mourn, they were all in a pitiful condition, and would easily be overcome if attacked.

No one graced his words with anything spoken. Though they stood, and turned walking away silently, eyes downcast, almost as though the very life had been sucked out of them.

The return trip was silent, solemn, and slow. No one had the heart to move quickly. No one had the will to speak. All were too lost within their depressed thoughts. Each mind running over the many times spent with their late friends, some memories enough to cause tears to fall again.

With a dampened spirit they entered back into Konoha, past the inquisitive guards whom they all ignored, and they headed towards the tower. They had a report to do, and they had to make sure that Neji's and Naruto's deaths were known and honoured.

They entered into the tower and proceeded past many people, halls, and rooms, until they finally arrived before the door leading to Tsunade's office. Not even bothering to knock, the six of them entered inside, officially interrupting her meeting with Iruka, as the two of them looked up startled.

"Yes?" Tsunade questioned after regaining her composure.

Her question wasn't met with a response, none of them knew what to say.

"Well? There is no need to look so glum," she stated, taking in all their saddened expressions. "it's not like someone died." She chuckled lightly, though was curious as to why they were in this state.

"But... but..." Tenten started only to burst out crying yet again, feeling as though her heart was once more ripped into two. The pink haired ninja hurried over to her and quickly comforted the sobbing teen, while the oblivious Hokage and Sensei watched on in confusion.

"What's going on?" She questioned, eyes moving between the sober looking Gai and Kakashi. Her stern voice indicated she wanted an answer, and now.

Gai nodded his head, noting that Kakashi's lips, though hidden beneath the mask, were sealed, and that recounting the events would be up to him.

"We carried out our mission." He started, and the Hokage nodded wondering where this was going.

"We had a plan, and we took the enemy hideout by surprise, finding out that the sphere's thieves were in reality members of the Akatsuki. We were unaware of this as we initiated our plan. We split into pairs and surrounded the area, sending two in to retrieve the sphere, while the rest worked as a diversion of sorts."

"The plan was going smoothly, only a few cuts and bruises on our side, and the faltering force of five Akatsuki on the opposition. Without warning, a massive explosion of unknown origin erupted destroying all in its path."

We managed to escape barely but..." He froze there unable to go on.

"But what Gai?" She urged him on.

"Where are Naruto and Neji?" Iruka questioned worriedly from beside the Hokage.

"They... are dead..." Gai finished, and lowered his head to hide the pain in his eyes.

A startled gasp escaped the Hokage's lips, as she stared at the group wide-eyed, and in shock. Iruka on the other hand began shaking his head back and forth in denial, muttering the word 'no' over and over again like a broken record player.

Swallowing hard, Tsunade asked, "What of the sphere? Did the Akatsuki get it?" Sure she was greatly saddened by the loss of the bubbling blond sunshine that was Naruto and the calm intelligent teen that was Neji, but she had duties as Hokage to deal with.

"It was destroyed."

That is it for this chapter. I hope it was alright, and that I didn't screw up the characters too horrible, or if my story is stupid and inadequate. Please review, I love to hear your guys' thoughts on my story. Thanks for reading! I'll update as soon as posible.


	2. Tournament?

**Disclaimer:** As I have said in the previous chapter, I do not own Naruto, nor anything related to that series.

**Warnings:** They remain the same as the first chapter, so if you are curious go read them.

**Pairings: **Neji/Naruto, other pairings will be thrown in later.

**A/N:** I hope this chapter is good enough, please read and Review!

**Chapter 2**

A burning sensation engulfed both Neji and Naruto as a brilliant white and blue light encased them. Neji surrounded by the white, while Naruto the blue. The sensation that rocked their bodies, did indeed feel strange, yet at the same time comforting.

The felt as though they were moving, yet at the same time they felt as though they we standing completely still. They felt right side up yet at the same time upside down, it was all so confusing, that neither could grasp the situation, nor make even remote sense of it in their befuddled state.

As suddenly as the whole thing started, it stopped, and the two of them found themselves floating suspended in mid air. The sky around them was a blue-violet colour, very beautiful and intriguing to the eyes, though something was off. The colour was that of an hour closer to dusk, though the sun was still high in the sky, illuminating everything.

It was an incredible, but still a picture perfect sight to behold. Though marvelling at the sky was soon brought to an abrupt end as the invisible threads that held them suspended vanished and the two plummeted to the earth below.

With great speed and velocity, the two fell towards an old, but well kept stone bridge in a lush tree filled area.

Using their chakra and a basic jutsu all people at the academy were taught, they channelled enough chakra into their legs and feet to withstand the impact without taking any damage what so ever. ((A/N: A trick I'd love to know, then I wouldn't have to worry about crashing full speed into something and getting possible internal damage from impact. So painful. A piece of advice, don't fling yourself full speed into a solide wall back first. It kills the back like you wouldn't believe.))

The two touched down, landing in a cat like position, before slowly straightening themselves out and looking around.

Since they had used the jutsu, they and their landing spot took no damage, meaning the bridge was completely unfazed, the only thing seemingly effected by their landing was the dirt particles which then hovered loosely in the air before settling back down in a new place.

"Where...are we?" Naruto questioned as he absently brought his left hand up to run over the giant scorched hole on the front of his jumpsuit right at the dead centre of his chest. "Just great..." He muttered poutingly to himself, blue eyes narrowing at the hole in his bright orange outfit.

"I do not now." Neji answered a moment later, after having looked around, trying to locate their position, though found nothing familiar about their surroundings. It was so different.

The sky wasn't its normal cheery blue, instead it was a cheery blue-violet. The sun which was once a brilliant yellow now shone as a magnificent crimson, though the light it cast was pure white, supplying perfect lighting.

Animals and plants that roamed freely about the trees were different too. They had never seen such creatures as these in all their lives. Some looked like mutated crossbreeds between salamanders, cats, and turkeys, while others looked like creatures out of a fictive novel written by some extremely creative or just plain weird author.

The plants were not their customary deep green, they were instead light yellows, reds, pinks, oranges, browns, and violets. Their shapes were very odd as well, some would be super thin by unbelievably tall, while other super short but rather large in diameter. There was combinations, crawling plants and so much more, that the boys soon become occupied with staring at the strange place they were in.

The sound of rushing water below, made both of them peer over the bridge's sides and gaze down into the clear and pure looking green water. This place was so strange, so different, but in its very own way, it was utterly unique.

A vicious snarl rang from the opposite end of the field and both ninjas turned. Naruto's eyes bugged out upon the site, while Neji's eyes merely widened.

On the bridge not too terrible far in front of them -as the bridge was a small one- stood a creature so hideous that many who set eyes upon the brute would wish they could rip out their own eyes and erase the site from their memories.

"Humans!" The creature snarled, mouth opening wide showing off black, cracked teeth, that fit perfectly well with his lumpy scared and wrinkly sludge coloured skin. Beady black eyes shone grimly out from behind tendrils of oily matted greying hair.

The thing stood only four metres tall, though what it lacked in height it made up for in width. Around his waist it wore a large loincloth, that way it could cover himself decently due to his immense body weight, though the cloth was worn and torn, and the colour of vomit.

"What the hell is THAT?" Naruto demanded as the creature's putrid scent reached his delicate nose causing his clear blue eyes to water.

"Muff'igus! My bridge! Pays da priceor bes aten!" ((A/N: The first word in this sentence is the creature's name. He said it due to Naruto's asked question. )) Muff'igus shouted and Naruto blinked before peering at Neji, eyes demanding a translation.

"Apparently this is his bridge and he requires a fee for us to be on it, if we don't pay he'll eat us." Neji explained to the boy. Naruto's mouth formed an 'O' in comprehension before regarding the strangely named though totally was totally ugly.

"Ya right!" Naruto said hotly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Bridges don't belong to anyone, we aren't paying." He said in a huff.

A growl vibrated from the beast's mouth as his eyes narrowed. "No pays?" He asked, his gross voice dangerously low.

"We will not pay." Neji said in a agreement, nodding his head slightly though his body did tense, ready for what ever the creature would throw at them.

The creature bristled, a strange snorting like sound escaping him as he drew his face and nose higher into the air. "What the..." The blond teen started but didn't get to finish as Muff'igus launched his head forward as his mouth open and spat a massive wad of slick, black and putrid spit which hurtled towards the boys.

They both easily evaded the assault and in landed with a sickening sound onto the bridge, splattering little particles into the air, on of which struck the arm of Naruto's orange jumpsuit. "That was nasty!" The boy said staring in distaste at the little fleck on his clothing when his eyes widened.

The spit released a gurgling hiss and it began to eat away at both the bridge and the jumpsuit. "Gah!" The blue eyed ninja exclaimed as he quickly tore his sleeve off and tossed it to the ground where it was quickly devoured by the acid and joined in burning a whole through the bridge as the massive part of the spit ball did.

As the two balls of spit reached the base of the bridge, having burned holes through the entire stone passage way, they fell to the water below and instantly disappeared as purified by the water.

"Yeus fast! Not fast enuff!" The great beast exclaimed as it rushed forward, arms outstretched and it had maniac look twisting his already hideous face into a more grotesque sight.

In two blurs of speed, both Naruto and Neji moved forward. In their hands they hand their kunai, and as they raced past the brute, they simultaneously severed its head, letting it fall with a sickening thump to the ground.

The headless body was spurting black blood in thick rivulets that made both their stomachs twist in protest, though they did manage to not regurgitate their last meal. They both cautiously moved closer to the corpse, hands covering their noses as they checked to make sure it was really dead.

"Neji-san... What was that?" The younger one inquired looking over at his highly intelligent companion with confusion written on his innocent face.

"I do not know." The black haired beauty responded eyes flickering over to his companion. "Are you hurt?" He asked as his pale white-purple eyes landed on the now sleeveless arm.

"I'm fine, I got it off before it burnt my skin." Naruto answered, feeling a little let down that even Neji didn't know what the heck the creature thing on the ground was.

"At this rate we'll need to get new clothing." The older teen stated as he motioned towards his damaged clothing, and Naruto's. "Between that orb and any fighting, or clothing will soon be worn away." He added as an after thought.

"Halt!" A deep, though kind voice rang out from behind them causing them both to spin, black blood covered kunais in hand.

"Thou hast slain thy bridge brute. Be'ist thy friend or be thou foe?" A man wearing shining silver armour which covered all but his head inquired as he sat atop his stunning black horselike creature, which had bull horns and claws, even though the rest of the body was horde shaped.

The blue eyed, blond haired boy blinked. "Huh?" He asked wondering what the strangely dressed man was talking about.

"We are not enemies and we are not friends. What business do you have with us?" The Hyuuga questioned as punctual as ever, eyes regarding the man before them.

The mounted man laughed merrily. "Indeed an answer worthy of knighthood!" He said cheerfully. "I am Sir Cadrit of Crimson Court." Cadrit said by way of greeting.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto.Next Hokage of Konoha" The blond introduced himself.

"Hyuuga Neji." The black haired beauty answered shortly.

"Uzumaki...Hyuuga, such indeed strange names." Cadrit said as he ran his hand over his chin which was in need of a shave and soon.

"Those are our family names." Neji corrected.

"Then why did'st thou not say so." The man said chuckling, and smilling brightly, which illuminated his brilliant green eyes.

"Uhh..." Naruto trailed off as his stomach suddenly growled letting it be known that it wanted food and soon. At the noise the blond demon vessel laughed nervously while patting his abdomen. "I'm hungry."

Neji nearly anime fell at that though managed to just have a slight cough, though the knight seemed to perk up at that.

"Come hither to thy Lord's castle, and feast merrily honourable warriors who hath slain a much sought after bounty, and claimeth thine prize." The man said as he turned his horse like steed around and began to walk at a light pace so not to exhaust nor outstrip the two who followed on foot.

"Can't we hurry." The innocent blond whinned.

"Set thine desired pace, and I shalt abide." Cadrit said happily which caused Naruto to smile brilliantly.

Naruto quickly altered his speed to that of a comfortable sprint, and Neji soon joined him. It took Cadrit a few moments to get over his stunned state at their speed, and soon brought his mount to a gallop, and together the three of them raced towards their destination.

They ran at the pace steadily for a good half an hour before a town arose in the distance. The town's structures seemingly held no real colours. Everything was either brown, black or gray, and could easily be mistaken for a rock filled of sorts from a distance, though the ninjas's eye sights were far to keen for that illusion to work, and Sir Cadrit knew better for he had been there multiple times.

At the far side of the city from their position was a medium sized stone castle, which loomed over the whole town much as a mini mountain would tower over the surrounding plains. It was a beautious sight to behold.

They lessened their pace to relaxed walk, as to not alert the guards on duty at the gates. They descended the slight slope which lead to the city, though they did walk on the gravel path which lead to and fro from the town.

As they arrived at the gates they had to stop as a knight wearing simular armour to Sir Cadrit barred their path with a massive spear in hand. "Halt! Identify thy selves!" The man -whose far was shielded from view due to his helmet and visor- ordered obviously following routine rules.

"Sir Cadrit of Crimson Court. Neji Hyuuga, and Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha." Sir Cadrit introduced them as he saluted his friend in arms.

"What business do thine strangers hath within?" The knight before them inquired as he likewise saluted the mounted knight.

"I hath brought them forth, to honour Muff'igus' slayers, and to treat thine young warriors to thy bounty offered." The green eyed knight responded.

"Mere children hath slain thy brute who hath butchered thy great Mathaniol?" The other questioned disbelievingly.

"Indeed, an astounding sight mine eyes had ever beheld." Sir Cadrit stated with a smile and the knight that barred their path hastily moved out of their way.

"Forgive thy inquires honourable warriors." The man stated as he saluted Neji and Naruto.

"Uh... Don't worry about it." The demon vessel stated sheepishly as he ran a hand over the back of his head.

"This way thy young friends!" Sir Cadrit said as he reined his horse creature into a light walking pace and both boys followed obediently.

The knight lead them through the many winding streets heading towards the castle. All bout them villagers dressed in colour lacking grabs gathered and regarded the two with much curiosity. Many women giggled and whispered, eying the two over, while many men regarded them, looking for any indication if either would be worthy of marring their daughters off to.

Many of the people were filthy, covered in grim and dirt, seemingly having not cleaned themselves recently and the overall scent was incredibly dizzying. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if these people ever heard of baths before, cause they sure needed it.

Heck, the entire town needed a decent cleaning, sludge, grim and what looked like body waste lingered on the ground and walls. The two teens were careful of where they stepped, and cautious to touch anything or one.

Both were relieved when they arrived at the castle as it looked very much clean, as though a horde of people constantly worked on cleaning the grounds, the walls and the interior, much to the relief of the Konoha ninjas.

Sir Cadrit dismounted his steed at the castle doors, and handed the reigns to one of the stable boys before saluting the guards on either side of the door and leading the two inside.

The interior of the castle was grand. From great coloured tapestries, to black marble flooring and walls. Art pieces, and carpets coloured the area, while guards roamed the halls, while servants raced to and fro laden with trays of piled with food and drinks or cleaning supplies.

The knight lead them down many halls and passages, through chamber after chamber until they arrived in front of massive wooden doors that just reeked of polish. Sir Cadrit rose his strong arm and swiftly knocked on the dark brown surface.

In response to his knocking on the double doors, they swung inwards revealing a massive and beautiful throne room, filled with court jesters, servants, nobles, and warriors. At the far end of the room, upon the golden throne sat a man dressed in brilliant crimson and gold garbs, and a circlet of gold rested on his mane of black hair, though his brown eyes flickered over to the door.

Sir Cadrit strode forward and the two followed but a pace behind, as the entire congregation grew silent, all eyes regarding the knight the newcomers curiously. As the green eyed warrior arrived three metres in front of the thrown, he lowered himself to a one knee bow. "Mi Lord, I hath returned from my duties accompanied by thy young boys behind. I brought them to claim thine eared prize for they hath defeated the vile brute bridge fiend, Muff'igus." He informed the lord though many of the witnesses to hear the acclamation gasped in surprise as whispering broke out among the crowd.

The Lord sat there in silence, allowing his loyal knight's words to sink in. "They have slain him?" The man asked, his voice deep though kind, rang throughout the room, causing most of the hushed voices to stop.

"Yes Milord." The knight answered without hesitation and the man upon the throne stood with great elegance and grace.

"You two have slain the beast that made my strongest knight look like a mere child. We are in your debt." The Lord said nodding his head to the two young teens. However Naruto was silently glad that this guy didn't speak so strangely, it really hurt his head trying to make sense of the gibberish uttered by the people wearing silver amour, who he gathered to be called knights.

Neji on the other hand had long since noticed the knights were a rank among this place's hierarchy. The Lord seemed to be at the top from what he could tell, followed by the nobles, then these knights then the people. Though he was certain there were many more levels upon which he was certain more categories belonged, though the groups hadn't been brought to their attention.

"It was nothing." Naruto said with one of his traditional gins as he ran a hand over the back of his neck, while Neji merely nodded in agreement as their foe was too weak to even considered a threat or a challenge. It was but a walk in the park.

"Young warriors tell me your names." The Lord ordered as he remained were he stood, though a light of respect was plainly visible in his wise eyes.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and he's Neji Hyuuga." Naruto introduced them, though said their first names first not wanting to have to explain why they said last names first.

"Welcome. I am Lord Cameron. Ruler of the fourteenth realm." The man now identified as Cameron greeted and opened his arms wide in gesture of greeting. "Come! Let us feast and be merry!" The Lord exclaimed and was greeted with pleased cheers erupting from all subjects within the room.

In a wave of people, the Lord lead the two through double doors just on the left of the throne, revealing a banquet hall, bearing massive scrubbed wooden tables which were laden down with foods and drinks that the ninjas had never before lain eyes upon.

As guest of honour, both were lead to the seats to the right of the head of the table, and once Cameron sat down, all others followed suit, digging into meats and breads and cheeses and wines, and many other foods.

Polite conversations echoed through the room, though the blond teen payed it no mind as he stuffed his face with an unbelievable amount of etiquette, while the black haired teen silently ate with extreme manners that none about them seemed to hold.

"Neji, are you of royal lineage?" The Lord asked having been observing his guests closely.

"No." The pale eyed ninja answered.

"But he is part of one of the biggest, power fullest, and wealthiest family back in Konoha." Naruto added in just after he swallowed a massive piece of cheese while patting his now full stomach.

"Interesting. Konoha, I do believe I've heard that somewhere before..." The man trailed off as a thoughtful expression flowed onto his face.

"You've heard of Konoha? Do you know how to get there from here?" Naruto eagerly questioned as the other teen listened intently as well, setting his cutlery down.

"I do not think it is around here... Wait! Naruto, what did you say your sir name was?" Cameron questioned with a peculiar look upon his face.

"Uzumaki." The boy instantly answered, wondering what his name had to do with anything.

"I thought I recognized the name!" He said with a smile upon his face, having remembered something from ages ago. "I once met a man in my youth. His name was Arashi Uzumaki, and the fellow looked remarkably like an older version of yourself my lad. But he did not have those whisker like marks upon his cheeks, and his hair was longer. Plus he didn't wear such a brilliantly coloured attire." The Lord summed up.

"Naruto, could the man have been your father?" Neji questioned eyes moving from their host to his companion.

"I... don't know. My parents were dead when I was born, so I never met them. Plus no one will tell me who they were or what happened to them." The blond answered honestly while staring down sheepishly at his place.

"Lord Cameron, how is it you know this man?" The Hyuuga asked, though kept his focus on the blond.

"It was a good thirteen years prior to the tenth month of this year. He came to court, escorted by a knight after having appeared from the sky upon the battlefield. At the time, my father ruled this realm, so naturally it was he who greeted the strange man. I merely witnessed it as I attended most things as to be prepared for the day I claim the title of Lord.

The man had told a fantastic story, though the story has fled my mind over the passing years. He made many claims and could preform the most stunning and powerful of deeds, but he did not remain within my father's realm for long. After the start of the first season he left, and went to seek his destiny.

My late father nor I hadn't since been graced by his presence , and I am of the belief he has passed away." The Lord finished his tale, smiling kindly to the two boys who had listened attentively.

"Enough of past matters, what truly matters is the here and now, for it is that which decides our future. One that I hope will have you two joining the knights of my realm?" He turned the end of his statement into a question as he looked on hopefully at the two.

Both teens exchanged a look, both coming to the same conclusion. "I apologize, but we must decline. We wish to return home. Do you know of any means in which we could possibly return to a different world?" The handsome fourteen year old questioned, pale eyes regarding the Lord silently.

A disappointed frown graced Cameron's face at having had his offer declined, though he unexpectedly smiled a moment later.

"I do indeed know of a person who would be able to help, though this information I give you has a high price." The Lord stated to the eager boys.

"What sort of price?" Naruto questioned curiously as he narrowed his eyes distrustfully while crossing his arms over his chest.

"On the morrow, my realm is holding its annual Gladiator Tournament. If you two wish this information, that I alone hold, you two will have to enter. If one of you wins, your reward will be the knowledge you seek. Are we in agreement?"

"What's a gladiator tournament?" The demon vessel inquired as he tilted his head to the side, while Neji remained apathetic.

It is a tournament where all men who enter do battle. There is no killing, and the battle continues until one can no longer fight. Everything goes." The Lord of the fourteenth realm explained, hoping they'd agree as the slayers in such a tournament would be a thrilling event to behold.

"DEAL!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, honestly looking forward to the prospect of competing in a competition of sorts as he was only permit entrance into ninja related tournaments back home, though that was only reluctantly. The villagers of Konoha had a grudge against the boy, for reasons he himself did not understand, and they had not let him join in anything.

Neji Hyuuga was in agreement with the blue eyed teen, and merely nodded, not one for speaking overly much. He could use this tournament to test both his and his comrade's skills, and also gauge the strengths and abilities of the people from this world. The information he could gather would be useful in the future.

"Excellent! That means we have a total of thirty competitors!" The green eyed man exclaimed, pleased with their agreement.

"I suppose you two would like to clean up and rest for the long day ahead?" Cameron inquired and both nodded. "Very well." With a clap of his hand a girl dressed in a simple white dress hurried over, hands clasped in front of her and eyes downcast.

"You've summoned me milord?" She asked while waiting for her orders.

"Show our most honourable guests to the bathing area, and afterwards, show them to the guest rooms." He ordered to the young girl, who had to be at least twelve, and she nodded.

"As you wish Lord." She stated before curtsying.

Both boys got to their seats and excused themselves before hurried following the brown haired girl from the noisy room and into a different hall.

They moved through many halls, chambers and stairwells before coming to a halt before a massive door.

"My Lords. This is the bathing area, do you wish for me to bathe you?" She questioned, all the while staring at the floor.

Naruto's cheeks flared crimson, and Neji was able to keep most of his blush down, though a slightly pink hue did grace his pale cheeks.

"Thanks, but it is not necessary." Hyuuga dismissed the girl before the two entered inside.

"Very well my Lords, I shall wait here to lead you to your chambers." She informed them before closing the doors behind them.

The room beyond was a magnificent sight to behold. The room had a natural hot spring, and a large one at that. Wild plants grew all around the spring, and moved just to the walls. The only place devoid of plant life was the cobblestone path which lead to the water's edge. For even the water was graced with glorious water lilies.

Their bath passed quickly and uneventfully, and soon they were on their way to the guest chambers which were located on the third floor in the northern wing. Each room was massive in size, and filled with obviously expensive furniture and decoration, though every room resembled the next.

Neji and Naruto had the choice of rooms and chose ones beside each other. Both rooms had grey stone walls draped in tapestries, and portraits, while plush and warm rugs were scattered upon the stone floor to keep feet warm.

All furniture was of a deep brown coloured wood, the beds, desks, and chairs all matching perfectly. It was fancy for a place like this, though it was nothing in comparison to the Hyuuga or Uchiha estates. Though both were pleased with the arrangements none the less.

Both teen's retired early, wanting to be ready and well rested for the competition tomorrow. They had to win, they needed the information that the Lord held in regards to them being able to return home.

The night went by peacefully and quickly and soon both Neji and Naruto were awakened by a servant girl, different from the one from the previous evening. They were given several platters loaded with fruits, cheese and bread for breakfast before hurriedly ushered out of the castle and lead to a field none to far from the village.

At the centre of the field lay an arena, with stands for spectators. The seats were already filled with the people who'd observer the entertainment. The servant girl who had lead them from the castle showed them to an entrance way which lead to an under arena area.

"My Lords, this is the warrior entrance. The knights below will direct you when it is time for your battle. Do hurry as it is about to commence." She said before tearing off, heading back the way they came, having chores and such to return to.

"Ready?" Asked the blond.

"Yes." Answered the pale eyed teen.

With that the two descended down the dripping stone steps and went down to the level beneath the arena, where they'd wait the start of their fight. This day would be interesting.

"Just like his father..." Tsunade mumbled under he breath.

"Hokage-sama... What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, though her voice sounded rather snuffed due to all the crying she had been doing.

"Let me tell you all story that has been kept a secret within Konoha, one that very few know, and fewer yet know the more minuscule of details." Tsunade took a deep breath before continuing.

"Thirteen years ago Konoha and its surrounding areas were plagued with the horrendous beat known as the Nine Tails. The demon had mercilessly murdered many, destroying homes, lives and families with out so much as blinking.

"It was in October that finally the demon was confronted with a powerful adversary. The Fourth Hokage. The man had done all in his power and ended up destroying the demon by the only way possible." She paused there to take a few calming seconds.

"That knowledge is known throughout Konoha, and is part of our basic history as he sacrificed his life to destroy the Kyuubi.

"Though the demon did not die." A few startled gasps escaped the chunin, for they had heard that the Yoidaime had destroyed the creature.

"Demons are immortal creatures, and none could match up to the century old creature. So instead of killing it, as that was impossible, he sealed it away.

"The fourth contained the monster within the stomach of a newborn child, claiming that the baby be viewed as a hero for carrying such a horrendous burden, though such star treatment wasn't what the child received.

"Most of the people that witnessed this horrible tragedy viewed the child to be the demon, and have treated him horribly for his fate, one that had been placed upon him.

"The Yoidaime was a noble man, and had not the heart to place such a devastating burden on the shoulders of another child nor family, so Kyuubi was sealed into his own son.

"Arashi Uzumaki sealed him within Naruto." She finished her tale, while the chunin looked on stunned by the new knowledge, though Sasuke managed to hide it.

"So that is why everyone treated him so poorly..." Lee mumbled, eyes wide.

"We were just as cruel..." Sakura added in, shame, guilt and grief piling on higher in all their hearts.

Tsunaded nodded empathetically.

"But what ever happened to Naruto's mother?" Tenten questioned quietly, her voice was thick as well, though silent tears continued to course down her cheeks.

"She didn't survive child birth." Kakashi added in, the first time he spoke in ages. ((A/N: I have no idea how his mother died, or what ever had happened to her, so I'm sorry if this is wrong.))

"Why was this kept a secret?" Sasuke demanded.

"It was thought to be for the best. The third didn't want any problems arising and more troubles to present themselves to the demon's vessel. Though I suppose by withholding suck knowledge, we condemned him to be treated worse then the very scum upon the earth." The Hokage explained sadly.

"Tonight I will call a meeting for the entire village, to honour both Neji and Naruto who died heroically. Tonight Konoha will learn of their final acts, and of Naruto's hidden ancestry. Many will be shocked to find he is a descendant of one of the power fullest clans to ones rule in our village.

"But for now... Let us keep this quiet until the meeting, though you are all excused if you do not wish to come." She said dutifully, eyes moving to each of them, worry evident in them.

Once the sun had long since set, the entire village was congregated at the centre of the village, all curious as to the sudden meeting. Whispered theories of war, and demons, and other such none sense were seemingly the hit rumours upon the crowd.

As Tsunade stepped up upon the small stage and moved over to the podium, silence quickly engulfed the people. The woman silently looked around, noting that all present at the mission from earlier were standing in the front row, each wearing their own mask of emotions.

After a few more moments, the fifth cleared her throat, gaining all the people's attention if their minds had wondered during the silence.

"You are all wondering why I have called this meeting." She stated loudly, and many nodded.

"I bring to you saddening news." She said and at once whispers far more farfetched mumbled through the air. The Hokage had to clear her throat to regain their attention before coninuing.

"Early today, two teams of Chunin and their Sensei were sent out on a difficult mission. Though our source had greatly underestimated the dangers of the task. It was supposed to be ranked a high priority A ranked mission, though it had been given a B.

"The teams set out to recover the stolen Chaos Sphere." She took a pause and whispers again broke out though were quickly hushed as she continued.

"I am certain many of you have heard of this destructive and powerful sphere which has properties unknown to us, though was part of many legends involving great wars and power struggles." She paused again as murmured agreement broke among the villagers.

The Sphere was not stolen by any normal thief though, the Akatsuki were behind it." At that many gasps echoed through the area.

"Chunin wouldn't stand a chance!" A woman exclaimed with wide eyes and many nodded in agreement.

"On normal circumstances, no, but these were a determined bunch. They planned and moved in on the unsuspecting enemies, and even managed to take them by surprise. All eight people were in pairs, and one pair was sent in to retrieve the item from their hideout while the others made a diversion.

"They drew the Akatsuki out and their own team members were able to sneak in undetected. Those on the outside were drawn into battle with the traitor ninjas, and I'm proud to say they held their own, only receiving minor injuries."

Comments broke out, many in awe over the fact that mere chunin battled members of the Akatsuki and had the upper hand.

"Our side was winning until a massive explosion of unknown origin engulfed the entire base in a wave of molten destruction. It obliterated all in its path, including the two inside, along with the orb."

Startled gasps rang out along with many demanding the identity of the fallen teens.

"Fortunately the rest of the teams survived and all present members of the Akatsuki who were their likewise perished. Today we bested the Akatsuki, though at a horrible price.

"Today we lost Naruto Uzumaki, and Neji Hyuuga." She said sadly, as many whispers broke out, along with many tears suddenly being spilt.

"That monster deserved to die!" A man cut through and several shouted in agreement, glad that the demon child was gone.

"No he did not!" Tsunade exclaimed hotly regaining all their attention.

"The Fourth Hokage had sealed the demon within a newborn child, as there was no other means to defeat the Kyuubi." She said hotly and the many who had not known that gasped in utter shock, though silence remained.

"The Yoidaime christened Naruto a hero who would bare the weight of the monster inside him so that all of you could live safe. And you treated him like scum!" She said hotly before taking a deep breath.

"There is something else you should all know. The name of the Fourth was Arashi Uzumaki, Naruto's Father." She explained before turning and walking off leaving the entire village in stunned silence, and silent tears. If only they had known the truth before it was too late.

Well that is it for this chapter. I apologize if any character was out of character, or if what I had written didn't actually make sense with that series whole plot. Thank you for reading and please review.


	3. Pain and Honour

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Naruto Characters, not the story. Or anything else pertaining to said anime.

**Warnings: **This fanfic will contain malexmale pairings, violence, gore, and course languages. If you can not handle it, or are too underage to be reading you have been warned.

**Pairings: **Neji/Naruto will be the main pairing that will _slowly_ happen. Though I'm also thinking of having different pairings. Such as: Lee/Sakura Kakahi/mysterious person Tenten/Chouji Ino/Shikamaru Hinata/Kiba. There may be more in the future, but these are going to be the pairings in this story.

**A/N:** As I have mentioned many times, I have only seen around 6 episodes in this series, the rest I gathered from fanfics and research. If something is totally out of whack I'm sorry, but just look at it this way, it is a sort of Alternate Universe, so it is allowed to be wonky.

Thank you for reading and Reviewing.

**Chapter 3**

Neji and Naruto stood in the underground chamber located directly beneath the massive sized arena and stands, the only light was provided by hundreds of torches sitting in brackets lining the walls, casting flickering shadows throughout the damp room.

In the vast space stood many men dressed more strangely then the next, all brandishing their preferred weapons. The only sounds within the under ground room was the dripping of moisture, and the grunts from the men that were stretching or running through last second training. Far in the distance, one could hear the roar of the crowd, as they chanted for something or other, eager for the competition to start. The sound from above was rather muffled though, making them sound further away then they truly were.

A knight stood at the base of the stair well which spiralled upwards leading to the arena ground. The knight stood out amongst the warriors there, as his brilliant silver armour shone heedlessly in the damp environment. Not to mention that none of the combatants wore armour made of metal, most seemed to prefer their protection to be made of thick leather.

"Attention!" The knight stated loudly gathering everyone's attention. "Thou all knowith thin rules so I will not go through those, but the order of the battles will go is like this. Round one is Seth and Sigma. Round two is Jeremy and Kappa. Round three: Sci and Naruto. Round four: Brant and Wyot. Round five: Lance and Lawson. Round six: Tristam and Pweter. Round seven: Zail and Mark. Round eight: Phillip and Pierre. Round nine: Luke and Greg. Round ten: Shine and Bob. Round eleven: James and Tom. Round twelve: Neji and Jonah. Round thirteen: Bale and Noah. Round fourteen: Arwin and Zecht. And finally Round fifteen: Po and Kane.

Seth and Sigma please proceedest up these stairs for the start of thy fierce battle." The knight concluded.

Two men walked forward one large though extremely muscular while the other was small but lithe looking. The bigger of the two brandished two double sided axes his dark brown eyes bearing unfathomed emotions, while the other seemed to have only the weapon that was his body for his match, though his pale brown eyes held an unexplainable air of confidence.

With out so much as a whisper the two ascended to the arena above.

"Wow! I'm in the third fight!" Naruto exclaimed eagerly, wanting to hurry up and get his turn. "What round are you fighting in?" The blond questioned having not payed attention to the shiny amour wearing man after his match was announced.

"Twelve." Neji answered with a shrug, eyes moving through the people within the area. "I have a proposition for you."

"Oh? What kind of proposition?" The smallest of the entire congregation questioned curiously, eyeing his teammate silently.

"The two of us won't use any jutsus, genjutsus, nor ninjutsus. We will beat them with our fists and weapons only. Then once you and I reach the final Round, we'll go all out and give them a show they won't ever forget." He finished, and smiled lightly at the brilliant look shimmering on the blond's face.

"Deal!" He agreed happily and shook the taller Hyuuga's hand just for emphasis.

After their quiet agreement, they listened intently to the sounds above, easily picking up the cheering and booing from the spectators while the two combatants did what ever it was they were doing.

Within an estimated time of fifteen minutes a pleasant roar from the crowd rang out signalling the end of the first round, and while the sound continued a figure returned down the stair path. The victor had been the smaller of the two, the one that went by the name of Sigma. Though the man, no older then twenty had several nasty looking cuts upon his lithe form and his brown shirt and pants sported several tears.

"Jeremy and Kappa! 'Tis Time!" The knight called out and two more men moved forward. One of them was dressed in warn and filthy peasant garbs, while the other wore a white robe, and very much resembled a holy person such as a priest or monk. The two climbed the stairs and soon they disappeared in the waving roar of the crowd.

The second battle finished more quickly than the first and the short sword wielding peasant returned looking no worse than he had originally.

"Sci and Naruto!" The knight announced, looking bored and annoyed with the prospect that he couldn't be above watching the fighting.

"Later Neji!" Naruto said cheerfully as the blond bounced happily up the stairs followed by a thin and sadistic looking man who held a lethal looking whip in his hands. Sci looked disgusted with the prospect of having to do battle against such and small and weak looking boy, thinking that the blond wouldn't even cause him to break a sweat.

They both arrived on top and were greeted with the sounds of cheering and applause. Naruto gazed around with an unknown emotion in his eyes as he moved to the centre arena followed by the other man. They moved until they were facing each other and awaited the starting signal.

"Commence!" The voice of Lord Cameron rang through the air, though it was barely audible over the roar of the crowd.

Sci moved forward and directed a wicked fast lash with his whip towards the small boy who easily caught the weapon without any trouble, and in a swift move while Sci was distracted, Naruto pulled on the whip end he held causing the man to fly forward and right into Naruto's outstretch fist.

The blond's fist connected with a sickening sound to the man's stomach and the whip wielder fell to the ground clutching his stomach in immense pain. "Winner: Naruto!" The Lord exclaimed as stunned cheering swept through the stadium causing the blond to grin brilliantly.

He was finally acknowledged. Back in Konoha no one had ever cheered like this for him. It made him feel warm and loved. Totally sappy but oh so good. He held up his hand in a peace sign before bouncing back down the stairs and rejoined the men along with Neji below.

As he reached the view of the others, he was met with many shocked looks. None would have believed the small blond capable of defeating Sci, though they immediately drew the conclusion that the whip wielding man was beyond weak if he could not defeat a mere child who carried an air of extreme innocence about him.

"This is way too easy." The blond whined as he reached his companion's side, pouting and smiling at the same time.

"I assure you that when we finally fight it will not be easy." The pale eyed teen informed his smaller comrade who merely smiled a vulpine like grin at the promise of an incredible battle to come.

"Brant and Wyot, ye two warriors now shalt do battle!" The knight called out as he shook out of his stupor at seeing that the blond was the victor, his voice seemingly snapping all others back into attention. And so it went on, two went up and the only victor returned to await his next match.

"Neji and Jonah, ye're up!" The knight called them for the twelfth match of the day. So far the winners for all the Rounds proceeding Neji's were: Sigma, Jeremy, Naruto, Wyot, Lawson, Tristam, Zail, Pierre, Luke, Bob, and James.

The black haired beauty silently strode up the stone stair well, following a weak looking man whose weapon was a flimsy stick, whose bark was pealing and bore massive cracks on its interior surface. This fight wasn't even going to be a fight.

As did all the warriors before them, Neji and Jonah made their way to the centre of the arena. "Go!" The Lord exclaimed and in a forcefully slowed down move that still looked unbelievably fast, Neji moved forward and punched the man gently in the stomach though Jonah still went flying several metres back from the swift and still powerful punch.

"Victor: Neji!" Cameron declared and loud cheering met the Hyuuga as he moved away from the arena and back down to the waiting area, where he, like Naruto, was greeted with the shocked looks of the men below.

"Told ya it was easy!" Naruto said as he poked the pale eyed teen in the shoulder.

The next rounds went by, the victors being: Bale, Zecht, and Po.

"That's the conclusion of the first encounters. Next up is thou Sigma vs. Jeremy." The knight announced in his weird manner as the lithe man climbed the stairs followed by the filthy short sword fighter.

"This is going by way too fast! This isn't even a tournament!" Naruto whined again, pouting visibly. Sure the matches were short, but he was bored with sitting there. In the dungeon like place where they couldn't even watch the other fights to pass the time. He was way too impatient for all this waiting.

Neji on the other hand, was quiet and clam, he had incredible patience, so he wasn't fazed by the wait.

"Do you think the others are worried about us?" The blond asked in a low whisper as he looked down at his feet as he kicked a small rock across the room.

"Yes." Neji answered immediately as he set a reassuring hand on the demon vessel's shoulder.

Just then Sigma returned into the waiting area and the knight once again spoke. "Naruto and Wyot, Thine battle has arrived."

The sad look that had momentarily graced the teen's face hastily vanished as he bounced off for his next battle, a sly grin gracing his tanned cheeks.

Once the blond and his opponent who held a regular sword in his grasp were in position, the Lord announced the battle start and Naruto pulled into immediate action.

In a light jog, that highly resembled a full out sprint from a normal child his age, he stunned the sword wielder momentarily before Wyot directed a masterfully carried out slash at the boy. The blond easily dove under the swing and tackled the man's leg knocking them both into a clashing tumble.

The sword went flying when Wyot hit ground only to have the wind knocked out of him courtesy of a certain blue eyed teen who landed cat like on his stomach.

"Winner: Naruto!" The Lord cried out, obviously pleased with how well the blond and the black haired teens were fairing in this competition.

The blue eyed boy quickly returned below, where once again many shocked expressions greeted him. "This is easier that beating Konohamaru!" He informed his taller and more composed companion.

Three more fights came and went. "James and Neji, yer up!" The knight said in a bored tone as he played absent mindedly with his spear.

Neji silently ascended the stairs, followed by an unarmed man in his early thirties.

"Begin!" The Lord ordered once the two were in position. James leapt forward on the offense, aiming a flying kick towards the teen's face. The Hyuuga, easily caught the leg and used the man's momentum against him to throw the weaponless man into an unconscious heap on the ground.

This tournament was absolutely pitiful.

"Winner, Neji!" The black haired beauty heard as he returned below.

"Nearly there!" The blond exclaimed referring to the finals as his eyes took in the small amount of people still left.

Next up were Bale and Zecht who ascended the stairs silently, and after a long wait- the longest yet- Zecht returned to the waiting room, covered in sweat, and cuts. He was breathing heavily hinting at the fact that he and his opponent were evenly matched, and he had just barely managed to claimed victory.

"Thous battle is upon thy Sigma and Naruto!" The knight stated and both the lithe fighter and the small blond went back up. The whole highlight of the day thus far would be the ups and downs of the stairs. It was getting so repetitive.

They both moved to their positions, clear blue eyes clashing with dark hazel eyes as the attempted to stare each other down, though it wasn't working.

"Commence!" Echoed through the area as the crowd roared, eager for some more action.

Sigma leapt forward with a stunning burst of speed and aimed a combo punch and a follow up sweeping kick at the boy. Naruto managed to dodge the punches, though his feet were knocked out from under him. Using his downwards momentum to his advantage, the teen turned himself into a flipping position, hands to the ground and feet in the air.

In mid flip the boy's foot connected with the man's jaw causing him to stumble backwards while Naruto regained his propre footing.

This time it was Naruto who lunged forward on the assault throwing quick punches at the man in a fierce barrage of blurred fists. Sigma on the other hand dodged and blocked, taking many hits as the boy's overall attack speed was more then his own.

Sigma was slowly taking steps back, as he was forced backwards courtesy of a certain blond haired ninja, who was smiling slyly. Copying Sigma's opening move, Naruto did a double punch followed by a sweeping kick which successfully knock the man to the ground, where he stayed while panting heavily.

"Naruto is the victor!" Cameron's voice declared causing a massive wave of cheering to erupt from the spectators as he ran his hand over the back of his neck in embarrassment before he hurriedly rushed off to the lower level eager to be away from the crowd. As much as he loved the attention, it also made him some what nervous, though he was unsure of why.

The next battle featured Tristam against Pierre in an incredible short battle, that ended in what felt like mere seconds. Then it was once again the Hyuuga's turn. Neji and the man known as Luke ascended the stairs, the black haired beauty slightly surprised at how easy his opponent-Luke- wielded the massive Zanbato. ((A/N: A Zanbato is a massive sword that requires inhuman strength to wield. I do not know the English word for it, though if you've seen Bankotsu from Inu Yasha or Sano from Rurouni Kenshin you'll know what I'm talking about.))

Luke was a tall man just out of his teenage years with long black hair held in a firm dragon tail at the nape of his neck. His green eyes regarded the arena around him as they both moved into their positions.

The two looked somewhat simular, handsome beyond normal, not to mention calm and patient, from a distance one could have probably mistaken the two for siblings, though close up you'd note the differences.

"Begin!" Rang through the air, much like a crack of a whip would.

The black haired man raced forwards, faster then one would expect for bearing such a mighty weight. Though Neji managed to dodge a blurred swing which mightily stuck the ground causing the stone to crack and turn to dust which spread into the air as the earth itself seemed to quiver from the impact.

The airborne dust made visibility poor, though Neji could clearly see through it all due to his years of dedicated ninja training, but his opponent was not so adept at seeing through the blinding dirt.

Using his adversary's new found blind spot against him, the Hyuuga prodigy withdrew several shuriken _((Ninja stars))_ and launched them with great speed at Luke. The green eyed beauty flinched as one of the stars sliced his upper left arm, causing a deep gash which profusely leaked crimson blood.

Luke did not let the pain cause him to freeze, and had leapt away from the spot just as the cut took place and successfully managed to avoid the other three stars, though narrowly.

The green eyed man landed at a safer distance as visibility returned, and he was thankful the dirt had settle. In all his past battles not a single opponent had dodged his monstrous blade, let alone used the dirt that was brought alive to act as a veil to attack from.

Luke rushed forward again and jabbed towards the prodigy's mid section. Neji barely dodged the jab by a hair width using a twirling motion. In mid turn he withdrew a Fuuma Shuriken (( Windmill Shuriken. See episode: Oath of Pain to see it.)) As the teen reached the end of the twirl the giant windmill star was fully opened and let loose at the opponent who barely managed to dodged.

The elder of the two used his dodge to aim a swing at the boy who, didn't quite evade fast enough and took a long, but shallow cut to his right leg.

The sting of the wound seemed to indicate that Neji really ought finish this fight and fast, playing with one's foe wasn't necessarily the wisest thing to do, though the Hyuuga merely did it to assess the power behind the massive Zanbato.

Moving up his speed a fraction of a notch, the pale eyed Hyuuga zoomed forward and punched Luke in the jaw with but a mere fraction of his power. Something seemed slightly off. Neji frowned as the black haired man was sent sprawling a yard or so away. 'It seems that my powers have at least tripled since our arrival. I wonder if it is the same for Naruto?' He thought to himself as he was declared the victor and hurriedly returned to the bottom level.

The blond noticed his teammate's wound the second he came within sight, though the tall pale eyed Hyuuga seemed unaffected by it as he walk normally. "You okay?" Naruto questioned as he eyed the crimson life fluid which drained down the teen's leg.

"Yes." Neji answered honestly, it wasn't bad and he had suffered much worse than this.

At his companion's reassurances, the blue eyed boy grinned. "After this tournament, we'll have to get some new clothes." The boy remarked.

Indeed they did need new clothing. Both of their attires were worn, and torn with matching burnt holes on the chests, nicks and cuts scattered all over their outfits, and Naruto's jumpsuit was short one brilliant orange sleeve.

Neji allowed a tiny smile to grace his handsome features as he nodded his head in agreement. Maybe they could convince the Lord to lend them some new clothing along with the information they sought.

"Naruto, Tristam thine field is ready." The knight heralded successfully stopping any more chitchat between the two boys from another world.

In a bounce, Naruto hurried back up and out to the centre of the arena for his battle against some hairless man, who was just beginning to acquire a collection of wrinkles.

In a common Naruto battle start, the boy lunged forward and aimed a powerful flying kick at his adversary, who was caught unaware by the boy's speed and took the full blow of the kick to the stomach. The impact was harder than Tristam had initially thought it to be and he gasped in pain before crumbling to the ground clenching his abdomen in unmeasurable pain.

"That was easy..." The blonde whispered to himself, before sighing knowing that even Konohamaru would have done better than the seemingly experienced fist fighter who was now down for the count.

"Victor: Naruto!" The Lord cried out in sheer excitement.

After Naruto sprung below the next combatants were ushered out and the winner of the match between Zecht and Po, was Po.

Once again it was Neji's turned and he silently proceeded up, followed by Po. The winner of this match would be fighting Naruto, as the blond was the only warrior left below, accompanied by the unenthusiastic knight.

Po was an easy foe, for Neji had merely defeated him with one simple kick to the back of the head, securing his match against the blond below.

"Neji: Victor!" Lord Cameron declared, clearly ecstatic that the boys had both secured a position for the final battle, and the next match up would be between the two to determine the winner of the entire competition.

Naruto was quickly ushered upstairs followed by the knight who now seemed to be in a slightly better mood as he no longer had to wait with the contestants below, and now could come watch the final match, though he expected it to suck as the two boys would be the fighters in it.

In a calm fashion -one that seemed so strange yet so right to be used by the blond- Naruto walked to the centre, until he was nearly ten metres in front of Neji.

Pale eyes locked onto stunning blue and they both nodded, symbolizing to the other that they'd give it all they had. This match would be the highlight of the entire competition.

"Begin!" Rang through the air, only to be lost in the cheering crowd. Both boys barely heard the signal to begin, though once they heard it, all senses were moved onto their opponents.

Everything from noise to people seemed to vanish to the two boys, making it as though they were about to duel in an empty clearing far from prying eyes.

In synchronised speed that was almost invisible to the entire crowd the battle began.

Both rushed forward, a blur of orange and blur of black charging each other only to clash in a furry of flying fists and constant kicks. Each move was either offensive or defensive, neither gaining ground, though their attacks were fierce and brutal, each containing great precision and strength

In a sudden move both pushed back from each other and landed in simultaneously executed flips before both landed smoothly eying their opponent. Neither looked even fazed by the intense encounter, for neither was breathing heavily, nor were any beads of sweat visible.

Naruto reached inside the pouch attached to his leg and withdrew a Kunai and held it at the ready while Neji followed likewise withdrawing the exact same kind of weapon before they both launched themselves back into the fray with a whirlpool of kicks, punches, slashes, jabbing, and snarling as each assault grew more savage. Each time their Kunai contacted with the other, both were incased in veils of molten hot sparks which flew many metres.

After one extremely vicious clash of Kunais, the weapons both shattered in a hail of razor sharp pieces, slicing both of their arms and legs, though the wounds were nothing but small scratches as they barely bled.

As their weapons demolished each other, both sprang backwards doing strange symbols with their hands.

The Hyuuga prodigy finished his hand seals moments before the blond could and he shouted his attack out. "**Kanton Housenka!**" (( Fire Type- Mythical Fire Flower )) Causing several bursts of brilliantly large fire balls towards Naruto's end.

"**Kage Bushin no Jutsu!**" (( Shadow Replication Technique )) The blond shouted just as the fire blasts escaped his opponent, and twenty or so odd clones-which were exact replicas of the blond- appeared in the field area that the younger boy once stood.

The fire balls struck many clones causing them to pwoof out on contact, while others fell victim to the shurikens that were cleverly concealed in the fire balls.

Each of the orange clad figures were struck down and all vanished in a burst of smoke, leaving that end of the arena completly empty. "**Donton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!**" ((Earth Type- Inner Decapitation Technique )) echoed through the air. Neji barely had time to blink as his feet were suddenly yanked into the ground, and the pulling didn't stop until his head was the only thing still sticking out.

Seconds later Naruto reappeared. Neji "**Kawarimi no Jutsu!**" ((Body Substitute Technique)) rang out from the semi buried prodigy who changed into a log as the teen reappeared behind the blond with a flying kick.

The blond barely was able to turn around to bring his arms up defensively in front of his chest before he took the blow and went skidding backwards, feet digging into the ground to slow his progress.

In his backwards standing slid Naruto ran through another set of seals before shouting, "**Kage Bushin no Jutsu!**" Causing another twenty or so blonds to reappear in the arena grounds and they all synchronously unleashed a barrage of Shuriken at Neji and all hit their target only to have it vanish, signifying that the black haired genius had used an illusionary jutsu.

All the Narutos looked around, each trying to pinpoint the Hyuuga. "**Kanashibari no Jutsu!**" (( Body Freeze Technique )) cut through the air and suddenly all the clones ceased moving all frozen in position as a rain of Shuriken came from above.

Each version of Naruto was struck by the Shuriken and all but one vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the blond original standing with a ninja star embedded in his sleeveless arm and a grimace of pain upon his tanned face.

The blue eyed teen hurriedly ripped the metal weapon from his flesh and in a swift move launched it all the Hyuuga who had just landed on the ground.

Neji easily dodged the shuriken but was hit by the second star which was hidden in the shadow of the first. The mini bladed star hit the boy in the right calf, though it was hurriedly ripped out and tosses aside.

Both remained standing staring at the other, eyes locked in a challenging gaze, while breaths came out in sharp heaves, while the red sun cast shimmering light upon their sweat soaked bodies.

In a blur they launched forward and leapt into the air where they met in a fierce though short clash before both landed on the opposite side that they had started, backs facing each other.

Simultaneously their knees gave way and they crumbled to the ground gasping for breath.

"Tie!" A voice shouted out, one that ripped through the silent barrier that had previously encased the two. The shout was followed by a defining cheer, as the spectators were standing, shouting, whistling and screaming like their was no tomorrow. Even the knight from the lower level looked utterly stunning while he heavily applauded the incredible battle between the two skilful teens.

Luke and a amour wearing knight rushed out onto the field. Their the green eyed man assisted Neji in standing, while complementing their battle. The knight had likewise moved over to the blond and helped him out before all four of them lead the two off the arena and up into the royal box in the stands.

There they were greeting with a smiling and obviously pleased looking Lord, who was trying to get his people to clam down enough so that he could speak and not be drowned out.

Once the crowd finally grew silent the Lord Spoke up. "Today's tournament was indeed one we shall remember always! The feats of these two young men, Neji Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki! Remember these heros well for they have already defeated Muff'igus, and they will continue on until they become legends!"

As the Lord finished his broadcast, roaring cheers once again flared through the entire area, and the noise most likely carried to the city, allowing all those who couldn't come for one reason or another, to conclude that an intense battle must have happened, for never before has the crowd cheered so loudly.

In the box, the boys were once again able to support themselves, and the blond was waving out at the people while smiling the brightest smile he had, his blue eyes shimmering with a content light. This is what he lived for: recognition, and he had it! Now all he had to was get back to return to Konoha and prove himself worthy of being the next Hokage.

The blue violet sky, which had been clear suddenly changed to a deep grey at that point causing many to look up worriedly. "Huh?" Naruto let out as he too looked up at the sky noting the sky had grown ominous.

"Come! We must hurry to the castle before it strikes!" The Lord exclaimed as all the people panicked and screamed, all fleeing the standing in fear of something that neither boy seemed to understand.

The blond and the black haired teens followed the Lord, and were followed by the Zanbato wielder and the knight that had earlier helped Naruto up. They tore across the field having exited the massive structure. They moved at speeds that were slow to the two Konoha ninjas, dark screams piercing the air.

"What they hell is going on?" The blond demanded hotly, somewhat annoyed that his recognition period had been driven to a sudden halt.

"The Jet Dragon comes!" The knight behind them exclaimed, his heavy metal armour clunking noisily behind them.

"Jet Dragon?" Neji questioned as the Lord nodded his head, all traces of his earlier excitement gone, and was replaced by one of distain.

"Yes. A Jet Dragon is a massive beast, whose entire body is seemingly made of vicious air that circles like a horizontal cyclone. Though they range between one league in width to the largest ever which was thirty-seven leagues. And their length! It is simply extraordinary, It goes on four hundreds on leagues, as far as man can see.

"They seemingly appear out of thin air, though the scholars are trying to learn what they truly are, and where they come from. Right now some believe that their very bodies encircle the entire world, but that is fantastical nonsense." The Lord paused before continuing. "Also, they seem to have and electrical barrier of sorts that encircles the beasts frame. There is no known way of defeating or destroying on, though many have tried and perished in their foolish attempts."

"An impossible task even for the strongest. I have some speculation that not even a God would be able to defeat such a thing." The black haired man said as he shifted his Zanbato into an easier to hold while in a running position.

"Above!" The knight hollered, his voice laced with great fear.

All heads looked up, and Naruto's eyes grew unbelievably huge. "Holy! That thing is gigantic!" He exclaimed in complete awe as he looked upon the unearthly creature.

Above them, drifting down from the ominous clouds, was a massive cylindrical wind body, encased by strands of shimmering purple electricity. It's body measured an estimated twenty-nine leagues in width, and as the Lord had said, it cut across the sky, neither end visible.

A blood stopping roar echoed over the area, causing a shiver to run up many peoples's spines, though the warriors of Konoha remained unaffected, the only thing they felt was shock at its size, and awe at seeing such a magnificent thing.

A second roar–different then the first– rang out over the sound of the first as another such creature appeared over head, its body stretching the opposite way, though its width was far superior, passing at least forty leagues, making it the largest yet seen.

It was quite the sight to behold.

The rain fell from the sky, in an relentless fashion, dropping thick drops of liquid down by the bucket full and down onto a group of congregated people.

The people below stood solemn and quite, all dressed in their best black attire. A thick air hung over them all as they watched Tsunade add two new names onto the stone which bore all the names of every warrior who had perished in the line of duty.

With a heavy heart she inscribed their names upon the stone, occasionally wiping the tears that cluttered in her eyes. This was another sad day. For today they had held a funeral for both Naruto and Neji, and now they were providing the last honour for the two.

The Hokage felt greatly depressed for she had cared deeply for the blond, almost as if he were her little brother at such a young age. The old should never have to witness the death of the young, it wasn't right.

Once she finished inscribing the name she stood straight and place her emotionless mask over her face as she turned to watch all those who stood there.

Her eyes moved from the now broken teams, to their teachers, before roaming over to Iruka who was a sort of fatherly figure to the blond. He was immensely shaken and saddened, for he had lost the son that was all but blood related.

Her eyes roamed to the higher clans, to the other teams, through to teachers, and random other people that had either cared or knew either of the late ninja.

It was a sad day, almost an omen of worse times to come. Though the woman hoped not.

With an echoing silence that was only broken by the falling rain, the large group proceeded back to the village, Tsunade leading the procession.

Once back in the village everyone headed their own ways heading home. None had the energy to visit, to talk, nor take comfort from another as nearly everyone was in a state of mourning.

They had lost a Hyuuga prodigy, someone who was thought to one day be made a sannin, and they had also lost the Yoidaime's only son and heir. The Uzumaki bloodline would forever be lost, along with the hidden powers it possessed.

The next day dawned a sunny one, the exact opposite of the previous day. The sky was clear, and the after rain smell lingered invitingly on the air. The birds chirped happily, as the sun rose higher and higher, and the people of Konoha slowly with it.

In the Hokage tower sat Tsunade. She was seated in her office, going over much paper work. Being the head of the village gave her many responsibilities, and left her mountains of paperwork that she always had to deal with.

A sudden and sharp knock on the door pulled her attention away from her latest document that needed her approval. "Enter." She called out and looked up as the door opened.

Kakashi walked in. "Tsunade-sama." He said nodding his head to the woman in a sign of both greeting and respect.

"Yes Kakashi?" The woman asked as she folded her arms upon the papers shattered in a disarrayed state.

"What are we to do about Gai's and my teams?" He inquired, his one visible eye unreadable.

"Well..." The woman began. "I suppose we will have to edit both the teams some how. I know Sakura wishes to be a medical ninja, so perhaps I could take her in as an apprentice of mine, leaving Sasuke alone on your team. That should be well enough. Tenten and Lee work well together, so they should be fine, and Sasuke needs a lot of attention and training. After all we do not want the boy following the footsteps of his elder brother." The Hokage finished with a nod.

The silver haired jounin nodded before bounding off to inform the others of everything.

Things would definitely be different from this day forth.

Well that is it for this chapter! I think it is short then the other two, but it has more action, so don't kill me!

For those of you who realized, I attempted to use middle English, though failed miserably. Also since Naruto is Japanese, they only speak Japanese, meaning it shall be ye old Japanese. Don't kill me for how stupid that sounds.

The Jet Dragon idea was based on something that anyone who passed Science 10 should now. I took the idea of the Jet streams that circle the Earth and made them be viewed as a Dragon of sorts.

Thank you for reading, please Review! I beg of you!

Plus a special thank you to my reviewers. . You made my day!


	4. Journey Begins

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters or anything else in this series, so don't shoot me!

**Warnings: **As said in the previous chapters, this **will** contain Yaoi and normal, possibly even yuri, though I remain unsure of that at this point. If you are underage I suggest you do not read this as it will contain violence, course language, and mature situations that would cause most mommy's to panic.

**Pairings:** The main pairing is Neji/Naruto, though there are other ones such as: Lee/Sakura Kakashi/mysterious person Tenten/Chouji Hinata/Kiba. There may be more in the future, but these are going to be the pairings in this story. ((I do realize that I had in the chapter prior to this one, placed Ino and Shikamaru as a pairing, though I have changed my mind on that and have eliminated that pairing from my story. I apologise if this upsets any of you.))

**A/N:** I just wanted to say thank you to all who have read my story so far, and for all those who have reviewed, let's just say I love you! Not in the lovey way, but as in the you made me so happy that I like you even though I don't know type way. Just a reminder, I have seen only a few episodes, so if any/all characters are OOC, I'm sorry.

Please Review! After all, reviews encourage me to update with bigger chapters and faster!

**Chapter 4**

Naruto and Neji stared up at the sky, eyes wide at the massive dragon like creatures above.

"Two?" The knight exclaimed, his beady eyes bugging out of his helmet making him look almost comical, if only the situation was so horrifyingly dangerous.

The first beast to appear slowly moved, a small section of its unearthly body, striking against the body of the much larger one. Thunder claps ripped through the sky, though the colour was the same as the lightning barrier that incased both the Jet Dragons's bodies.

Where the bodies met a funnel began its descent. It was a tornado of sorts, though obviously not normal as the wind it seemed to be composed of was a light blue, and it shimmered with the occasional bolts of purple electricity that seemed to lethal to be real.

Below the oncoming tornado sat the town. It was directly above the heart of the village, the place where commerce and population was always the most dense, and even now hundreds were still racing about, trying to escape the path of the slowly, yet steadily approaching vortex that would most likely rip them limb from limb should they get within range. A death that painful none wish to experience.

It was an everybody for themself situation it seemed. Husbands and wives would flee in different directions, pushing and shoving all in their way in an attempt to save their own lives. Parents and children of all ages and sizes were separated, leaving the young and clueless alone to be either trampled or lost within the massive crowds.

"Let's go!" Naruto declared to his comrade who merely nodded in pure agreement before they both tore off in dark and powerful blurs, all wounds and previous tiredness long since gone as the adrenaline kicked into over time in both their bodies. They were pumped!

Together they rushed forward, leaving the Lord and the two fighters behind as they raced towards the city. The blond, who had advanced senses, courtesy of a certain nine-tailed fox that took up residence within his body, was able to see further ahead then the Hyuuga.

"Neji! There is a girl trapped under an upturned wagon in the central market place!" Naruto exclaimed as they took to the roof tops to avoid the dwindling crowds of fleeing civilians.

The teen saw what was pointed out and noticed the girl could be no older then eleven, and she was likely to die from the tornado which was nearly there. From their positions, the two were being brutally assaulted with gashing winds, and flying debris. They could almost feel the strange electricity sliding over their bodies, though they held it no heed.

It seemed that everyone had managed to flee, leaving only the girl and the lifeless trampled bodies of people of all ages.

The vortex was but a yard over their heads as they leapt down onto the cobble stone road right beside the last living person within the area.

Together Neji and Naruto heaved the massive solid wood wagon that was decked out with metal bearings and joints with all their might, but the thing just barely moved. Thankfully it moved enough that the two teens could retrieve the girl.

The girl was different than the many peasants they had already seen. The common hair colour was either brown or black, while the eyes were either blue or brown. Peasant garbs were generally filthy and brown, made of wool, but this girl did not look a thing like a commoner.

No, she looked very much of noble descent. Her eyes were a deep bottle green, that shone with an intelligent light of maturity, while her hair which hung down past her waist was a flaming red colour that was clean and well tamed in the extricate braid. Her skin was pale, signifying that she was normally indoors.

Her dress was beautiful. It was simular to Sakura's outfit, yet entirely different at the same time.

It was a long and flowing gown, made of the finest silks. The colour was a beautiful white, though it was now dirty due to her previous position on the ground, pinned between the wagon and the street. She was a rare beauty, who would undoubtedly grow into an enchanting woman with time.

The girl shakily stood and cast them an appreciative glance as a gently smile accented her young face. "We have to move." Neji informed the two and Naruto nodded before gently grabbing the girl's hand and racing off at a slowly pace after the black haired Hyuuga.

A sound, one that resembled an angry wail, tore venomously through the air, almost as though the storm, or the jet dragon, was deeply enraged that its living victim was fleeing before she had felt its mighty, unyielding wrath.

Two thin blue things that much resembled an octopus, shot out from the base of the whirling vortex and launched themselves, though still attached to the funnel, at the three fleeing figures.

The blond saw it coming and pushed the girl out of the way and placed himself before the oncoming things which glowed like a light, despite its color. Without so much as a hesitation they quickly wrapped themselves against the now struggling demon vessel just as the black haired prodigy turned and caught the girl who was stumbling from being shoved.

Neji's eyes widened as his blond companion was suddenly yanked through the air and up into the funnel in less then the blink of an eye's time. In a move of pure trained reflex, he scooped the girl into his arms and hurriedly rushed to the place all others hide.

At the center of the down, their was a storm hold, and the boy moved rapidly over the rumble and debris that had been tore and destroyed from the stunningly powerful winds that ripped stone roofs right off its walls and tossing it through the air like a child would a tiny stone.

The girl and the teen made it to the shelter, and the boy pulled open the massive cellar doors made of solid wood before gently slipping below, closing the doors behind him. He moved with the girl through the torch lite area until he spotted the Lord, all the knights, nobles and peasant who resided within the village.

"Bridget!" The Lord exclaimed as he rushed forward relief visible on his face. Neji set the girl down and she was quickly pulled into a crushing embrace. "I was worried I had lost you as I had your mother." He whispered into the young girl's ear as he pulled back and examined the amazing unhurt girl.

"Neji, I owe you dearly for saving my beloved daughter." Cameron stated as he stood, though he continued to hold Bridget's hand. "But where is Naruto?" He questioned looking around the area trying to spot the blond.

"He was pulled into the vortex of the jet dragon." The handsome black haired team said, bangs shadowing his pale eyes.

"My God..." The Lord said as his green eyes shifted to the ground below. "I'm sorry..." He said eyes moving over to his daughter who likewise had a sad look.

"I'm going in after him." Neji stated, sheer determination rolling through his voice as he lifted his head, revealing the steeled looked in his eyes.

"It's too dangerous!" Cameron declared, eyes wide.

"For you perhaps, but I am a ninja, and so is Naruto." Neji said before racing off towards the exit, and climbing the stone stairs and reopening the doors. He stepped out into the billowing village and closed the doors behind him.

"I'm coming Naruto, hang on." He whispered to himself as he took off in the direction on the funnel which was completely destroying the center market place.

Naruto was yanked up into the vortex without so much as a struggle as he was too shocked to move. He passed through the middle of the spinning sphere that was filled with bits and pieces of almost everything imaginable, from wagons, to weapons, from bodies to homes, you name it, and it was there.

Blue eyes were snapped back to attention as he passed the top of the swirling tunnel and was yanked past the purple electricity that was the dragon's barrier and was pulled inside it's massive body.

Once inside the blue tentacles vanished and he was encased in an unending field of deep blue that went off seemingly forever in every direction. He was floating in position, there was no ground visible, and no natural pull which brought all things on the Earth down. It was odd.

The temperature inside began to elevate, growing hotter, and hotter with each passing second, and the liquid that he could breath through became more dense as the occasional spark of purple electricity ran over his skin leaving a tingling sensation wherever it had made contact.

Mini bubbles began to rise all around him, so tiny that he didn't recognize what they were at first. They formed all around him, and danced around his suspended body in an intricate dance as each bubble wether old or new began to grow in size as the temperature continued to rise higher and higher with each passing second, causing the blond to grow more uncomfortable.

Sweat began to bead on his handsomely tanned skin, and his cheeks acquired a rosy hue, signifying that it was extremely hot. Despite the heat that engulfed him, the air he breathed into his lungs was fresh and icy cold, the exact opposite of the strange heat that reminded him of boiling water and watching the small bubbles gradually grow larger until he could finally place his delicious ramen into the pot so that he could soon devour it.

'Great... Now I'm hungry...' He thought to himself as his stomach growled loudly.

The bubbles suddenly changed from fist sized wonders to the size of his entire body, which is quite an intimidating experience. Being surrounded by massive bubbles with no visible escape, could be quite the interesting way to spend one's day.

The heat continued to rise, so very hot, yet it did not burn his flesh, not did it alter the icy air he was gulping down in order to cool himself. He was drenched in sweat and hurriedly tore his orange jacket from his body and let it drop to the side.

His shirt was suddenly struck by an angry bolt of deep violet electricity, turning the article into cinders which drifted off.

'I need to get out of here!' He silently decided as he began doing the front crawl forwards, dodging as many bubbles as possible. His movements seemed to enrage the bubbles, and the air filled massive forms began to charge at him causing him to have to avoid being tackled by a giant bubble.

Naruto swam desperately, avoiding all assaults that he could, while launching Shuriken at any he couldn't dodge causing the struck bubbles to explode in a rush of small bubbles. If he ever got out of this and back to his world, someone would have him placed in the mental ward of the hospital after hearing this story.

His breath was suddenly knocked out of him as a bubble caught him unaware in the back before pulling him inside it's surface. The blond blinked in surprise, for the bubble's interior was pleasantly cool and refreshing, whereas the exterior was smoldering hot.

Neji ducked under an airborne house as it sailed rapidly over his head before smashing full force into a building to his left launching stones and other such materials towards the slowly moving boy.

The black haired teen was moving at a slow pace due to the extreme winds which hindered his progress, and despite his ninja training and skills, we was unable to move faster than a simple light jog.

His traveling time back to the village's center took a long while, but he did finally make it.

In the time it took him to take the girl to safety and back, the funnel had set down upon the ground, ravishing it with unholy might. It was at this point that Neji paused, pale eyes roaming the area for an idea as to what he should do to trying and find his missing comrade.

Then it struck him, not an idea but two blue tentacles, similar or the same to the ones that had kidnaped the blond. They likewise wrapped around him, and forcefully dragged him upwards, and through the funnel, without so much as gaining a scratch.

Before the handsome prodigy had time to contemplate his predicament or to take in much detail, he was pulled into a seemingly unending blue area and released. Neji was struck by instant heat, and was sweating within mere seconds of his arrival, his pale eyes wide trying to understand this unnatural place.

'Where am I?' Neji silently questioned as he gazed upon the massive bubbles which flew all around him in a flurry of intimidatingly huge air filled pockets which moved through the water like substance that one could easily breath the icy air through. It was strange.

The black haired prodigy wasn't granted much time to contemplate the strange place he was plunged into, as the bubbles which were lazily floating about him turned and commenced attacking him with great furry.

Neji moved in a blur of movement dodging each bubble that came to near though a few slipped past his guard and one engulfed him within its pleasantly cool interior.

Once he was captured all the outside bubbles popped save his and one other, and upon closer inspection, he noted that his blond companion was seated cross-legged inside the other bubble, obviously sulking over something or another. After a few seconds he noted that Naruto was missing his orange jacket piece, meaning that had to be one of the things the teen had been pouting about.

Both bubbles suddenly rocket launched themselves skywards, knocking the two to the bottom of their unpopping prison, with eyes wide. Even from his current position Neji could hear Naruto's excited cheers in his own bubble, though he didn't really care for the top of the seemingly unending blue dome came into view and he felt that soon they'd both go splat.

The top of the bubbles collided full forced with the top of the blue prison and popped, launching both boys still up and both had eyes closed awaiting the impact that would without a doubt kill them, but it never came.

After they had stopped moving, and both felt solid ground beneath their feet, their eyes opened in confusion. "Are we dead?" The blond asked as he looked around while edging closer to Neji much like a shy child would edge over to their parents so that he or she could hide behind them.

Neji moved his hand to his companion as the boy reached his side and he pinched the blond on his jacket less arms. "Oww!" Naruto exclaimed as he quickly grabbed his arm where it was pinched and glared at the pale eyed teen. "What the hell was that for?" He demanded hotly.

"Just checking." The taller of the two said as his pale eyes took in their surroundings.

They were standing in what resembled the waiting area below the arena which that had sparred in not so long ago. The floor, walls, and ceiling where all made of a deep grey stone that had patches of glowering green mold dotted everywhere. Water was dripping into puddles all over the ground and the only source of light was from the neon green colored mold which cast them both into strange light.

Naruto's hair looked a sickly green, as did the black haired teen's eyes, anything that held a lighter color seemed to be cast green, while all other colors seemed to merge with the green creating sickly colors that only a creepy bizarre crazy person would like.

The chamber they stood in was large, though it had a massive door at the opposite end of where they stood, one that led to God knows where. "Should we keep going?" Naruto questioned, eyes lingering curiously on the door.

"Yes... It is the only way out as those bubbles seemed to have sent us through the very stone of the wall, meaning there is no way back." Neji explained as he placed his hand on the solid wall behind them, carefully avoiding the moss and mold.

Nodding, the two teens stepped forward, moving towards the door with determination visible in their eyes.

The sounds of their feet pattering through the puddles rose and echoed loudly through the room as the two crossed the room for the door. After making it to the halfway point a sound, one unlike any they had ever heard echoed through the air as their footsteps had, successfully causing them to pause in place, eyes looking for the source of the noise.

More sounds similar to the first joined the noise, making it sound like a conversation being held, one that featured the strangest of languages, one that made zero sense to the two boys who now stood back to back.

They felt surrounded, yet there was nothing visible. They were only following their instincts. "What is it?" Naruto whisper desperately trying to locate all the owners of the different voices. He was curious and slightly afraid to see what or who spoke a language that sounded like hissing, grunting, snarling, and clicking.

"I don't know..." Neji whispered back, glad that he wasn't alone in this. Being surrounded by an unseen foe, leaving one's back wide open was never a good idea, and he was thankful that the blond was at his back, and he was at the blond's back.

"Gyaaah!" Naruto exclaimed in pain as a claw like cut appeared on his left arm causing crimson blood to flow from the wound. "What the heck?" The blue eyed teen grumbled.

'Are they moving so fast that we can't see them? No... The voice are ringing out from the same spots, and when the voices move, the movement is too slow, slow enough to be an elderly person who is crippled walking. Then what?' Neji thought to himself before letting a grunt escape his throat as claws tore a gash into his cut, successfully wrecking his poor clothing further.

As the sent of blood rose into the air, the voices grew more enthused making one word echo into both the teens's minds. 'cannibal.'

A brilliant gash tore its way across Neji's cheek, and another similarly on Naruto's opposite cheek. Whatever was in the chamber with them was obviously toying with them.

Neji unleashed a blurring barrage of Shuriken that tore through the air, accompanied by the sound of pain as it sliced through their unseen opponents. His attack caused what sounded like enraged sounds to erupt in the voices. "I think you made them mad!" Naruto exclaimed as he also released a similar barrage which was greeted with more sound of pain.

"We can't hold them off with Shuriken forever..." Neji mumbled and Naruto nodded in complete agreement.

"But then how do we..." He cut himself off as he looked at the ground blue eyes wide. "Neji! Look at the puddles! Their reflection is in the puddles!" The boy exclaimed and the black haired boy looked at the watery surfaces, noting the creatures were visible in the water's reflection.

With smirks both boys moved into action, their eyes focused on the puddles, as they moved through the creatures that greatly resembled savage teddy bears, and sliced their way. They used shuriken, and kunai everywhere they could and they even unleashed a few exploding notes, each striking their slow moving targets with ease.

Within mere minutes the room was filled with corpses that were only visible in the water's reflection, leaving them the clear victor. "Well that was easy!" Naruto said with a brilliant smile as he crossed his arms behind his neck.

"You did well Naruto-san." Neji stated as he silently brushed past the stunned looking blond who then hurriedly moved to follow. Sure they had several new bleeding cuts, and their clothing was further ruined, but that was way too easy.

They silently moved the rest of the way, eyes occasionally glancing towards the puddles to check if they had missed one that would try and sneak up on them. Both boys arrived at the door without any problem and the black haired prodigy slowly and quietly slid the door open, weary of another assault.

Opening the door and passing through it into the dark room beyond was somewhat unnerving. As they were a few paces in the pitch black room the massive door suddenly swung shut with an echoing boom which startled both the ninja, and left them in pure blackness as they were cut off from the glowing mold.

"Neji-san..." Naruto started, his voice sounding as nervous as the black haired teen felt. "Where are you?" He asked quietly, feeling slightly panicked, not wanting to be left alone in this dark place.

"I'm right here." Neji stated as he gently reached out and found Naruto's arm. "See, right here." He said soothingly. Sure the blond did act tough, but he was entitled to fear something, and the boy definitely feared being alone.

Naruto moved his hand into Neji's and an unseen smile graced his tanned face. "Thank you Neji-kun." He whispered quietly, though the sound traveled to the Hyuuga causing him to smile and squeezed his hand in soft reassurance.

"Let's keep going." The taller teen said as he gently tugged the blond forward, and together they continued walking in silence, their feet making no sound, as they didn't wish to draw any unwanted attention to themselves.

The blond boy suddenly stopped. "Uh...Neji-kun?" He asked in an unsure manner.

"Yea?"

"Why did the ground just sink?" The blond asked innocently as the sound of turning gears rang through the air.

"I think you just set off a trap." Neji answered as he shifted closer to the boy, who was pouting. He sucked when it came to traps, or so Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei had always said.

The ground suddenly shifted and both boys tensed as it suddenly gave out, causing them to fall through a newly opened gap in the floor. They fell through darkness, neither seeing a single thing as they continued to tumble until they struck very soft, very bouncing ground.

They bounced slightly on the newly landed upon ground, still holding firmly onto the other. "What is this?" Naruto questioned as he patted the ground he was currently seated on.

"Feels like sponge." Neji stated as he stood and pulled the blond up with him. "Over there." Neji said, causing the blond to look around in the darkness trying to locate where 'over there' was. To his left there was what looked like a door, only that was only partially closed and had a shimmering blue light seeping out of the gap.

Silently they crept towards the door, their hearts beating in the thrill of excitement, while they edged closer and closer, coming upon the door within mere seconds. Their instincts seemed to scream that something, or someone or great power and interest stood just beyond the way.

Naruto silently pushed the door open and they both cautiously entered the room that lie beyond the door.

The room was way different then any other that resided inside this strange place. It was filled with flowing pillars that stretched up high into the air, going farther then the blue light seemed to reach. The pillars were draped in silver silks, while the floor looked like a lake, a very solid glowing blue lake.

Silver pieces, which highly resembled the night sky floated here and there moving ever so slowly like fireflies, yet they were not insects, nor were they stars, their true identity remained unknown.

"Wow..." The blonde whispered in awe at the mystical place which just screamed magic.

"I'm glad you like it." A voice that was definitely male rang out, though the owner of the voice wasn't visible.

"Whose there!" The blond demanded as he released his companion's hand and turned each way trying to locate the voice.

"Calm yourself, I will not harm either of you." The voice said again though a light chuckle could be heard in his words.

"Yea right! You abducted us, assaulted us with giant bubbles, sick savage invisible teddy bears on us, and drop us down a dark hole onto a giant sponge! How can we trust you!" Naruto demanded hotly as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared around the room, almost as though he was hoping it would reach the voice's owner.

An amused chuckle rang through the air causing the blond to further frown. "That was a test." The voice simply stated.

"What sort of test?" Neji inquired curiously.

"A test to see if you had it in you to visit me." The unseen male stated.

"Why would we want to visit you! Also why was the test so flimsy?" Naruto asked loudly.

"I didn't want to give you a difficult time reaching me as I admit that I was eager to meet you both. Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga."

"How do you know our names?" The blue eyed fox demon vessel asked in shock, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging slightly open as he continued to peer around.

"I know everything."

"Oh God... don't tell me it's another guy like Sasuke who is full of himself..." Naruto mumbled to himself as he uncrossed his arms and set them at his sides.

"Why did you wish to meet with us?" Neji questioned as his gaze lingered on the glowing solid lake which they stood upon.

"To grant you a simple gift." The voice said.

"A gift?" Naruto asked eagerly, for he rarely received gifts.

"Yes." The voice said.

"What sort of gift?" The blond questioned happily as he bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"Close your eyes and you shall receive it." The voice said. ((A/N: The voice says a lot))

"Kay!" The blue eyed boy exclaimed as he cheerfully closed his eyes, though Neji closed his more slowly, not entirely sure he trusted this bodiless voice that held an air of authority and superiority to him.

Once both of their eyes were successfully closed, they only saw the dancing blue light which pirouetted over their eyelids. A sudden flare of white light appeared within the room, yet neither had a chance to react as a burning sensation enveloped the two of them in a painful sphere causing the to both black out.

Naruto lie still, a light white light resting on his eyelids, causing him to curse the sun in silence. He didn't like it when the sun pulled him from his dreams, even though he currently felt warm and secure.

Heck he felt more warm now then he normally ever did when sleeping. It felt as though someone had added a heater to his bed, though he seriously doubted that. With a sleepy groan he opened blurry blue eyes and stared up at the red canopy above him.

The blond blinked several times in confusion, not recognizing the red canopy, before he glanced around his room. 'Wait... isn't this...' His thoughts trailed off as he realized he was currently lying in the Guest room bed at the Castle.

"How'd I get here?" He questioned out loud, his voice somewhat hoarse from both thirst and lack of use.

"I have no idea." A voice to his left answered causing him to jump as he hadn't noticed anyone else in the room. He turned his head and looked over at Neji, who was lying beside him.

'So that is why I felt warm... We were sharing the same bed.' Naruto concluded in silence as he slowly sat up and stretched his stiff limbs.

The door to the room opened and in walked Lord Cameron, who smile a brilliant smile of relief. "Thank goodness you two are awake. We were begging to fear that you'd never awaken after having destroyed the two jet dragons." He said with a brilliant smile.

"We destroyed it?" The blond asked, mouth hanging open as Neji likewise sat up and stretched his stiff limbs.

"Yes I saw it with my own eyes. After you had left Neji, several of my knights and I stepped out from the shelter, hoping to find the two of you returning. What we saw was astounding. The dragons had merged into one unmeasurable beast, and it was pulsing with great and horrible power.

"I feared for my people at the sight I saw, but then, I heard two voices. They screamed so loud I felt as though it would tear my very soul to pieces. That's when the dragon exploded in a wave of light, leaving the two of you suspended in the air, surrounded by glowing light. The screams were coming from you two.

"After a few seconds, your shouts ended and you two plummeted to the ground below. We though you would die upon impact, but once we reached you and found you both alive but in poor unconscious shape, we hauled you back here." The Lord explained, looking happy that they had awakened.

"How long were we out?" Neji asked.

"Five weeks." The Lord answered somberly.

"WHAT?" The blond exclaimed as he hurriedly hopped out of bed. "You mean I haven't eaten in FIVE WEEKS!" He shouted horrified at the prospect of having no food in his system for that long.

"Well I'm glad you two are still the same even after the changes." The Lord said, his voice filled with laughter.

"Changes?" Neji asked and the Lord pointed towards the mirror at the corner of the room, and they silently approached it, both their eyes glued to it.

Naruto was taller, at least five foot seven. His hair was longer, though still spiky and unruly as ever. His eyes had an indigo ring around the black pupil, though they were still the brilliant sky blue color. His entire body was completely devoid of all baby fat, and was replaced by a lean, slightly muscular, though still small. He also looked sort of feminine the way his body was shaped, but that just served to make him far handsomer than even Sasuke. The blond silently stared at himself in awe, he looked good, even the tiny fangs, claws and tail looked hot.

"I have a tail!" He exclaimed as he turned his head to the side and glanced over his shoulder at the fox tail attached to his rear, that was black save for the tip which was a brilliant crimson.

'I must have merged with the Kyuubi...' He thought to himself, eyes wide in shock before he spun around to look at his companion, who was indeed also different though he hadn't first realized it.

Neji had grown even taller, towering at six foot four. His already long hair was even longer, though still as silky as before. His forehead was bare, revealing smooth skin, signifying that his family curse seal was gone. His face, like Naruto's, had matured into a stunningly gorgeous man, while his body become more lean, yet still slightly muscular.

Both boys were equally handsome, though they were probably the fairest creatures in all the lands within this world.

Naruto suddenly lifted the end of his severely torn and destroyed shirt and looked at his stomach, the seal was gone. "I merged with the Kyuubi..." He muttered out loud drawing Neji's attention to him.

"The Nine-tails?" The handsome man asked, and was greeted with a nod. "How?" He inquired.

"The fourth sealed him in me when I was born." The blond answered simply before turning and looking at the Lord. "I thought you said we were asleep for five weeks, not five years!" He sais hotly as he crossed his arms in annoyance.

"I did. You have only been out for that long, yet when we found you two, that was how you looked. Magic does funny things." Cameron concluded as servants raced into the room carrying massive trays of towering food. "I though you two might be hungry so eat up." The Lord said a the servants set the trays down upon the desk and left, following their Lord.

Naruto hurriedly bounded over to the food, and began to eat it, happily filling his empty stomach. Neji soon joined him and they ate in silence, both thinking over something or other.

Their morning meal passed by silently, neither up for conversation, and Naruto felt no need to be his annoying self. It was as if Naruto had matured with his body, and he felt more knowledgeable then ever before. He also felt far more powerful then he ever thought possible.

His very veins seemed to hum with soothing power which he was certain would take some time to fully master and he was also certain that it was the same for his silent companion.

The rumor of the Chaos sphere was indeed correct. For if it weren't for the magical sphere the two of them would have never come to this strange place and they would have never had this extreme power up.

A knock at their door snapped them both from their respective thoughts and both turned to look at the door. "Enter." They said simultaneously before looking at each other momentarily then back at the door as a figure walked in carrying a massive bundle of wrapped packages.

The person was small, though strong, as she–you could tell she was female by her visible hips-- moved towards the bed and deposited her massive armful onto the bed, revealing her waist up to the two teens who now looked to be in their eighteen, nineteen age area.

It was the girl they had freed from beneath the wagon just the other day, er... five weeks ago.

"Hello, my name is Bridget. Daughter of Lord Cameron." She said as she curtseyed to the two who merely blinked in surprise. Neither had known the Lord had a daughter, let alone that they had saved her from the jet dragon.

"Thank you so much for saving me and the entire village. You two are extremely brave!" She said with a brilliant smile.

"It was nothing, don't mention it." Naruto said sheepishly as he ran his hand over the back of his neck as a pale flush ran over his naturally sun kissed cheeks.

"It wasn't 'nothing' to us. We are being grateful. I couldn't help but notice the state of your clothing and items that you bore with you after you were carried to the castle. So I made you two new outfits, and had the blacksmith forge many weapons for the two of you. I know it isn't much, but it's my way of saying thank you." The girl finished with a hopeful smile, wishing that the two would be pleased with the gifts.

"Thank you, you didn't have to do that for us." Naruto said as he flashed her his brightest smile while his companion merely smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'll leave you two to change, but I shall return with my father in about twenty minutes." Bridget exclaimed happily as she tore out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Both males moved over to the bed. The blond opened the top package, which was quickly followed by the rest. Together they set everything out over the expanse of the massive bed, and some things were set on the floor where there wasn't enough room.

"Dibs on the orange." Naruto said as he eyed the only orange article there causing Neji to chuckle lightly. Naruto was still Naruto no matter how mature his mind and body became.

The blond quickly discarded his torn orange sweat pants leaving him naked for the waist down and he hurriedly pulled on the leather pants which where a brilliant orange. He did them up and smiled.

The pants fit like a second skin from the low hanging point on his waist down to mid thigh, before it became more baggy the lower it went, and he like it. They were a cargo type pants covered with many pockets that would be convenient to place many things within, and it even had some stylish silver chains attached to it.

The blue eyed merged demon pulled a black leather belt from the spread out pile and inserted it in the pant loops before doing it up with the silver buckle. He didn't need the belt, but he decided he'd wear it as it was unbelievably cool looking.

Neji had likewise retrieved a pair of pants from the pile, and they were the twin to Naruto's except different in color. They were a deep black, and fit the same, though they were made longer and slightly larger as though they had been anticipated for the black haired young man.

Next both boys pulled off their shirts leaving their to die for stomachs and chests visible to any who should walk in. Naruto snatched up a navy blue tank-top which had three-quarter length sleeves made of strong mesh. He quickly slid it on, and it also fit like a second skin.

The black haired beauty grabbed a similar shirt, though the tank-top part was pure white with black trim, and the mesh sleeves, which was the same length as Naruto's shirt, was a shimmering white color.

After finishing placing on their basic clothing they both turned and looked at the other before smiling. "We look so hot." Naruto said with a vulpine smirk which merely caused an amused light to shimmer in Neji's pale eyes.

They each grabbed a pair of matching black leather boots and slid them on before picking up their gear pouches which had survived unscathed and instead of tying them to their legs, they both tied them to their left upper arm.

Naruto pulled on a pair of navy blue fingerless gloves while Neji pulled on a pair of black gloves. After a few moments they both pulled their hair into dragon tails at the nape of their necks, though the front of the blond's was still spiked everywhere in an unruly fashion, where the black haired one was neat and sleek.

They looked hot.

Once they had finished throwing on all clothing and cool accessories made by Bridget -- leaving only one navy blue and one black leather trench coats on the bed, both missing sleeves, for they would put that on later when they set out-- they began to evenly sort the massive hoard of weapons.

Each got at least five hundred shuriken, one hundred kunai, fifty windmill shuriken, a thousand sebon needles, twin daggers, and a masterfully crafted sword, though both had no honest idea how to wield such a weapon.

Silently they filled their pockets and pouches full of their newly acquired weapons, though it looked as though they bore no weapons in the pockets, presumably a magic trick of sorts. Though the daggers strapped to each thigh and the swords hanging in the sheaths at their waist were the soul weapons visible. Meaning they could catch an enemy unaware with their concealed arsenal.

"We should ask for some scrolls." Neji stated, his handsome voice cutting through the air enchantingly.

"Exploding notes?" Naruto inquired and the Hyuuga nodded.

"Yes, they would undoubtfully come in handy." The black haired prodigy stated as he moved over to the desk and rummaged through it finding about ten mini scrolls of parchment. He silently painted the necessary symbols upon each surface before placing some of his chakra into each scroll.

Once that task was complete he divided the scrolls, and attached five to his black leather belt before tossing the remaining five at his blond companion who easily caught the scrolls before likewise attaching them around his waist.

Another knock sounded from the door, and Naruto said enter as he just finished attaching the last scroll.

The Lord and his crimson haired daughter, Bridget, entered into the room, and took in the twos's appearances.

"Bridget, your skills with clothing has indeed improved." Cameron praised his daughter proudly and the girl merely blushed.

"Thank you Bridget, your gifts are greatly appreciated." Neji stated as he moved back over to the bed and bowed towards the two, Naruto following his action suite.

"No need to thank me, I'm glad I could be of some assistance. Oh and I took the liberty of adding a few spells to your clothing. One is that your pockets can hold an unlimited supply of anything, and never look as though they carry a single thing. Two is that it is self repairing, should you gain a tear it will instantly repair itself, and three, it magically cleans itself, keeping it always in tip top condition no matter what." She said cheerfully as she regarded the two drop dead gorgeous males and blushed a color that rivaled her hair.

"I suppose you two are setting out soon?" Cameron asked, his mood suddenly somber.

"Yes, after we gain the information we need from you and a few provisions for the road we shall take our leave." Neji explained and the Lord nodded in understanding.

"Tell me what you need and I shall have Bridget fetch it, then I'll tell you all you will need or want to go." The green eyed ruler stated and the two other worlders nodded.

"Food, water canteens, traveling bags, medical supplies, blankets, maps, money, loads of small scrolls and to know the location of our ninja bands." Neji listed off and Bridget nodded before rushing off to acquire the needed items.

"Here." The Lord said as he pulled brand new looking bands from her cloak and tossed one at each boy. "Yours were in pitiful condition so I took the liberty of repairing them." Cameron stated and was greeted with a smile from his two guests.

"Thank you." Naruto said for the both of them as he tied his around the upper right arm, and Neji did the same.

"Now, the information I owe you two." The Lord said as he drew in a breath.

"Far away, in the Mountains of the Gods, lives the last living God. This God has the power to send you two back home, but the journey to his temple high above the ground is difficult, and gaining an audience with him is far more difficult than that.

"You need to find seven keys. Each key is kept in it's own dangerous and challenging temple, and to this date not a single soul has been able to retrieve a single key. One lie within the Undersea Temple, one within the Volcanic Layer, one in the Marsh Land Shrine, one within the Acidic Valley Ruins, one in the Looming Sky Forest, One in the Sludge Bog Temple, and the last within the Chaos Labyrinth.

"The keys are said to merge into one massive key which will unlock the entrance into the Mountain path which will lead you up to the God's dwelling. The path will be a long and greatly challenging one, and if any could ever do it, it would have to be the two of you." Cameron finished as he reached into his pocket a drew out a long roll of parchment.

"This is the map of all the lands, and it bares the entrance ways to each of these trials, though there are no maps for the interior of these places, for no soul has to this very day survived such places." The Lord added before handing the map to Neji.

At that moment, Bridget returned with two small traveling bags in hand, each filled with the requested items. "I made sure I brought you bags that had several spells on them as well. They will never tear, and no matter what you put in it will still have tons of room, and it was remain as light as a feather as to not hinder you on your travels." The girl informed them as she handed one bag to each of them.

"You will find all that you listed within those bags." She added as an after thought before smiling at them.

"Wow.. Thank you!" Naruto stated. "We are deeply grateful for all you have done to assist us." He finished and saw the Lord wave it off.

"We are glad to help any in need, not too mention you have done more for this village than I myself have." The Lord finished with a bright smile.

"Did you want horses for your travels?" Bridget suddenly asked.

"No. We will walk, that will give us plenty of time to train while on the road." Neji said before he picked up his sleeveless jacket and slid in on, before placing his new pack on his back, and the blond followed suit.

The Lord led the two through the castle and out through one of the back doors, once outside the man pointed due North. "About one hundred leagues North lie the closest trial, the Acidic Valley Ruins, I suggest you tackle that obstacle first." He finished and they quickly said their good-byes as the two teens set off up of the village, heading towards the beginning of their next adventure.

That's it for this chapter, and I'm proud to say that this is my longest one yet! Please read and Review, heck you can even Flame and complain. Let me know what you like or dislike, what you think I should include or change. Thanks for Reading!


	5. Bites and Jutsus

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, not anything belonging to that series. Nor do I own anything else. Unfortunately.

**Warnings:** Just another annoying reminder that there will be various pairings, Yaoi, normal, and perhaps even some Yuri, though I haven't thought that far yet. Also this fanfic will contain course language and violence, after all this fic **DOES **have ninjas in it. .

**Pairings: **A major change of plans involving the character pairings. This will definitely be a Naruto/Neji pairing, no worries there, but it will also feature Sasuke/Shikamaru. Later on, and I do mean LATER on, those two pairs will join up into a foursome containing Naruto/Neji/Sasuke/Shikamaru. Of course there will be plenty of other pairings as well. Such as Kakashi/Mysterious person, Ino/Chouji, Lee/Sakura, and Kiba/Hinata. There may be more pairings added in the future, so keep reading these since they seem to be ever changing.

**A/N:** A special thank you to **ALL **my lovely reviewers. I am deeply thankful for all your responses and such, even though my computer is evil and refuses to show me all your beautiful and encouraging posts/ or possible flames. This chapter is dedicated to all my Reviewers as my way to thank you. You guys made writing this chapter possible, so keep up with the lovely in coming comments or Flames.

**Chapter 5**

In a clearing with a river stood a raven haired teen, eyes closed and hands raised in a seal of sorts. Concentration seemed to seep from his very body causing mini waves to appear on the water's surface where he stood, as he was using his chakra channeling abilities to keep himself afloat.

Dark blue eyes opened and the boy whipped his entire body to the side before launching five kunai knives towards his silver haired sensei who had just appeared out of seemingly thin hair.

The men easily caught the kunai and half-heartedly twirled them in his long yet strong fingers. "I thought I'd find you here Sasuke." The man said as his only visible eye quirked in what could have only been a smile, though it was difficult to tell with his Hidden Leaf band covering his left eye, and his black mask which covered just below his eyes down.

"Hnn..." Was the only sound that the onyx eyed boy said as he walked to the rivers edge and onto solid ground, not a speck of water on his dark clad form.

"Well it seems you and I have a mission to tend to." Kakashi informed his only pupil. Ever since Naruto died and Sakura was brought under Tsunade's wing to become a medical ninja, Team Seven, which isn't really a team anymore, has been quiet, dull and for the most part uneventful.

Sure the surviving member of the Uchiha clan had improved vastly in the last nine months or so, after the incidence that brought the team to one student and one teacher for numbers. Almost as if you was training extra hard for a purpose other than to just off that certain someone who destroyed his entire family. Kakashi was certain that the boy who stood before him was at his level, perhaps even beyond. 'What are you trying to prove?' Kakashi silently questioned.

"What is the mission?" Sasuke inquired apathetically eyes boring into his sensei's only visible eye.

'Typical... Straight to the point. Not loud, no excitement and no pleasantries. I am beginning to miss that blond idiot...' The jounin thought to himself as he studied his pupil. "We have received reports that one of our scouting teams has gone missing. It's out job to find them and see what delayed them." He said before momentarily pausing. "Their last known location was about five kilometers from our current position."

The raven haired beauty took off without waiting for his instructor who in turn merely shrugged before taking off at his rapidly departing student. Like Sasuke, Kakashi took to the tree tops, and the two ran side by side at a blinding pace through the green foliage, neither stirring the plants nor birds, nor did they utter a single sound.

Within moments they arrived at the place, and they could easily tell it was the correct location due to the tore trees, the upturned earth, the charred ground and plants. Not to mention the hoards of shuriken and kunai were visible nearly everywhere within the small nor lifeless clearing.

Blood was splattered around the trees and body parts littered the area, each soaked in its own pool of blood. It seemed somewhat had massacred the scouts, though after closer inspection that would have caused any other to vomit, they noted that all together the pieces where only enough to form two people, and not the customary three.

One of them was somewhere else, wether alive or not, they had no honest idea.

"This way." The jounin said as he pointed out a blood trail, one that showed that whoever passed by this way was severely injured, for the patterns of thick blood fall indicated a massive amount of staggering, in a rushed manner.

Whoever ran this path was attempting to escape the assailants.

They followed the trail for a healthy ten minutes leaving the bloodied clearing as it was, simply discarding it as though it was any other clearing that wasn't filled with lifeless limbs and pools of congealing blood that seemed to reek more than anything either had ever before smelt.

Just ahead, at the base of a tiny shrub covered hill lie a deeply wounded, and surprisingly still living person. It was a man, though not a full man anymore. For he was missing a section of his right foot, and his entire left arm was severed and no where near in sight.

Blood, both fresh and old, was caked on his pale flesh, and a massive pool of crimson life substance was all around him, signifying to the two that he had been in that position for quite some time.

Sasuke and Kakashi hurriedly approached the man, and the silver haired jounin gently turned the man face up and gasped. The very skin on that man's face had been peeled away, just like one would peel the skin of an orange or apple. He no longer had a nose, for it had been clearly severed from his face, and just like his arm, it was no where in sight.

"My Gods..." The perverted sensei whispered as the man looked at him through eye lidless eyes which were filled with pain and the lingering darkness which clouded the eyes of all who had death's shadow looming over their souls. "Who did this?" Kakashi questioned, knowing full well he could not save this brutalized man, not could anyone for that matter.

"A...a...mon...monster..." The man answered in a raspy broken voice, as blood leaked out of his mouth joining the blood on his face in its travel down to the crimson puddle below.

"What sort of monster?" Sasuke questioned, wondering vaguely over all creatures that had the ability to destroy living things so cruelly, almost sadistically.

"It...i...it...was...Ita...Itachi...Uchiha..." The man finally said, with chest which was riddles with deep gashed rose and fell quickly, as he struggled to get air into his lungs which were filling with blood.

His response caused the raven haired boy to tense, and a dark light to enter into his normally emotionless eyes. "Which way did he go?" The teen asked tensely, a deep frown marring his brow.

"No...nor...th..." The man answered on his last breath before his brown eyes glazed over in death and his body grew both cold and limp.

The words had barely escaped the man before the young prodigy child raced off in said direction, his eyes no longer its onyx color, for they were a brilliant crimson with three black spinning wheels in them, his Sharingan was activated.

Sasuke didn't hear the shout that was directed at him courtesy of his teacher who quickly tore off after the boy whose thoughts were centered on finding his elder brother and killing the bastard for all the crimes he had committed. Which were many more than any sane person would care to list.

The younger of the two easily outstripped the elder, being hot on his brother's trail seemed to spur something in the boy that caused his adrenaline rush to kick into overtime allowing him to easily outran and loose his tracker, while he headed due North. 'I will finally get my vengeance.'

Sasuke moved from running to a sideways leap in less then a heartbeat as two kunai knives were launched at him, imbedding themselves in the tree where the raven haired teen would have passed. Crimson eyes scanned the area, something didn't feel right. What ever it was, he didn't know.

"Aren't you the predictable one, Sasuke." A man said as he stepped into the teen's line of vision.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The crimson eyed beauty demanded impatiently, wanting to hurry up and get back to hunting his 'beloved' elder brother.

"And impatient..." The creepy looking male added, his voice sounding much like a snake's. His comment earned him a typically glare, one that caused many to shrink back in either extreme intimidation or fear, though this man was unfazed.

"I am Orochimaru. I have come to get you to join my ranks. Become a new member of the Akatsuki." The man now identified as the cunning leader of the ruthless Akatsuki, stated his eyes hungrily roaming the teen's flesh with an almost sinister smile playing about his pale lips.

((A/N: I am sorry if this Orochimaru IS SO OUT TO LUNCH! I have no idea as to his mannerisms or anything. So please do not be upset. Also I apologize if you do not like how he is being portrayed here, but this IS a fanfic, meaning it is allowed to be different.))

Sasuke tensed, he was ready for a fight, even if it was against the leader of one of the most notorious gangs, the very gang of ninja's that had caused both Naruto and Neji to die. He would show this man as much mercy as he'd show his older brother Itachi, none. He would die a painful death as a way to attempt to repent for all his horrid deeds.

"Why?" He demanded, wanting to know why they wanted him of all people. Sure he wanted to kill this bastard too, but he was rational enough to know when to talk and when to fight.

"Simple... You have potential, and I can give you power enough to kill your brother..." He drawled on, his voice carrying a strange note to it, but Sasuke knew better. This man was trying to trick him. Power couldn't just be granted, working hard and training diligently is what brings forth power. Determination and the will to never give up brings power. Strength only comes from yourself, it is not something to be granted to you. A certain blond haired idiot had taught him that.

"Nice try, but I'm not falling for it." Sasuke said with an egotistical smirk on his handsome face. In a blurred move, Sasuke launched a handful of shuriken at the snake like man, though he slipped away, his movements were both flowing and graceful. This man had some skill. It would be a difficult fight.

They clashed together, a furry of nearly invisible fists and kicks, as they both attacked with all their strength, though they were both evenly matched.

Orochimaru went flying full throttle as Sasuke managed to strike him with a upper cross kick to the chin. Barely after impact on the man's chin, the teen started a flurry of hand seals before calling out **"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"** ((Fire Type- Empowered Fireball Skill)). A massive flame erupted from his mouth following mere seconds behind the still airborne Akatsuki leader.

The fire and man both collided into a tree, causing the bark of the oak tree to be savagely burnt. Once the smoke cleared the only thing visible at its base was a charred log and ashes, indicating that his opponent had used the Body Substitution Technique.

**"Juin Jutsu!" **Orochimaru's voice rang out behind Sasuke, and the teen hurriedly turned around, but he hadn't moved quick enough. In mid turn he felt two sharp canines sink deep into his neck. A pain unlike any other erupted in the boy, but the pain didn't seem to just come from the bite mark, it felt as if his entire being was being viciously ravaged by an unseen force. Before the teeth in his neck could be removed, blackness gathered at the edges of his vision, and he passed out.

Onyx colored eyes slowly opened, as the raven haired teen stirred from his deep slumbering state. His mind felt fuzzy, and his head was swaying. The light seeping through the window to his right stung horrible at his eyes, and he could only wonder if this was how hung over people felt. If it was he'd never drink, cause he absolutely hated this.

If Sasuke was anyone else, he would have pouted and whined, but since he wasn't, he'd just have to bare it with his high and mighty attitude. 'What is that smell?' He silently asked himself, a light frown marrying his brow.

From the moment he had awakened a smell, a strong one at that had plagued his respiratory system. He knew the smell well, and despised its unique odor, yet his mind was unable to presently grasp what it was that bore that scent, or what the scent was.

'How annoying...' He silently muttered, his haze slightly dulling, and his normalness slowly recovering. He silently pushed himself up and looked around the room he was in. It was white, dull, and sterile. 'A hospital...joy...' He sounded so displeased by the prospect of being hospitalized.

He frowned, his mind suddenly more clear, though he was completely baffled over how he had ended up here. Orochimaru had bite him, and hard, he fell unconscious, yet he was somehow back inside the Konoha hospital. Who had brought him back. 'Kakashi!' He exclaimed in sudden realization.

The silver haired jounin must have rescued him and brought him back here. "Damn it..What's that smell?" He asked aloud, the smell pulling constantly at his attention.

He turned to the side and saw the cause of his problem. A pickle. A juicy, large, green and pink ribbon wearing ribbon, that was sitting innocently on a white plate. An annoyed twitch appeared over his right eye. He loathed pickles, and here--according to the card-- was a pickle from a fan girl.

They were evil, both pickles and fangirls.

He moved through a series of hand seals and muttered **"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" **((Fire Type- Empowered Fireball Skill)), though he only used a small amount of chakra so that the fireball would be tiny, and only burn the pickle and nothing else. But something went wrong. Sure he had used only a little chakra, but the fire ball was a humongous size and easily cremated the pickle, the plate, all his get well flowers and cards, not to mention the entire night stand, and it severely charred the floor.

Sasuke blinked once, then twice. 'What the...' His thoughts were interrupted as the fire sprinklers came on over head, dousing him with icy cold water. The remaining flames were instantly put out, and all smouldering pieces were left to rest in ashes. ((No really bad pun intended))

"If you wanted a shower why didn't you say so." The voice of his former teammate, Sakura, rang through the air as she giggled at the soaked Uchiha. After Naruto passed on, the girl had moved on from her pathetic crush on the uncaring boy before her. And now she was dating someone, and happier than she ever thought possible.

For about the last month or so, she and Lee had been dating, and were basically a hot couple, despite Lee's strange affection towards green spandex. Since the pink haired young lady liked him so, she would put up with his fashion tastes, though she did wax his eyebrows, and change his hairstyle, making him fair more handsome then any would have ever thought possible.

A lot can change in nine months. ((A/N: For those of you who have noticed the time difference between the Narutoverse and the world Neji and Naruto were sent to, have a cookie. Yes I purposely made the times different as time moves far more quickly in one place then it does in the other.))

Sasuke glared over at the three people standing in the doorway to his room, just outside of the water's reach, staying perfectly dry. "That's what you get when you play with fire my young friend!" Lee stated as he firmly wrapped his arm around the pink haired girl's waist causing her to blush.

After a few more seconds the sprinklers turn themselves off, dripping innocently onto the soaked area and person below. Sprinklers were officially added to his list of evil things.

"Finally up, let's go to see the Hokage now!" Kakashi stated happily as the black haired teen stood from his bed, clothing rumpled and wrinkled from both sleeping in them and being covered in water.

Sasuke was not having a good day.

Lee tossed a bag at the other teen, who easily caught it. "Get changed, or you'll get sick and stay stuck in this joint for even longer." Sakura stated with a smile before pulling the door closed to give the boy some privacy.

Once the raven haired prodigy was dressed and dry, he exited the room only finding his sensei awaiting him. "Sakura had to get back to working, and Lee went with her." The silver haired man stated, answering the unasked question.

"Hn..." Was the only response the older ninja received as he silently lead the way from the hospital, through the clamoring town and to the Hokage tower.

Once inside, Tsunade's assistant hurriedly ushered them into the Hokage's office. "I see you are finally up and about. We were beginning to believe you'd stay in the comatose state forever. After all, two weeks is an awful amount of time to rest up." The large busted woman said in a teasing tone, though her eyes looked relieved.

"Now... Tell me all of what happened when you were separated from Kakashi-san." The fifth Hokage ordered as she sat straight, arms neatly folded in front of her on her desk.

Sasuke nodded as he settled himself down in the chair situated in front of Tsunade's desk. I ran in the direction that...Itachi... was said to have gone in, though my hunt was interrupted by several shuriken which were hurled at my. I then came face to face with the leader of the Akatsuki, Orochimaru.

"He asked me to join his organization, but when I declined we fought. We were both evenly matched until he used a strange jutsu and bit my shoulder. I don't recall anything after that." The raven haired teen summed up, still annoyed with the prospect of lacking memories pertaining to is escape.

Kakashi and Tsunade exchanged a look before looking back at the teen before them. "Very well, that helps. But if you passed out who caused Orochimaru to flee?" Tsunade questioned aloud as she leaned back in her chair with a deep frown upon her face.

"It wasn't Kakashi-sensei then?" The raven haired teen questioned with a deep frown as his instructor merely shook his head no.

"By the time I got there, you were unconscious and alone." The silver haired jounin responded as he ran a hand over the back of his neck.

"Well...Sasuke, why don't you go home and rest up a bit." Tsunade said in dismissal and the teen stood and left silently, leaving the two alone to discuss whatever they wanted.

The teen silently exited the tower and went outside taking in some fresh air, while silently running over the strange dilemma. 'Who saved me?' He asked while gritting his teeth, hating that he was weak enough to need rescuing.

Naruto was bouncing as they continued along their path towards the first key holding area. They have been traveling for days, though the pace was extremely slow as both he and Neji had been training. Even though they have been constantly training and walking, resting very little, Naruto had tons of energy to spare.

A week has passed since they had departed, one full week to learn that merging and aging was incredibly awesome for power up rates. Both he and Neji were incredible.

They had both easily multiplied their original chakra supply by ten, and had successfully learnt new jutsus. They gained great strength, agility, speed, grace, power, and intelligence. They were merely working on honing their abilities up to this point.

The blond had leant thirteen new jutsus while the pale eyed Hyuuga had mastered eight new ones. The jutsus mastered by Naruto in the past week were: **Oboro Bunshin no Jutsu** ((Mist Clone Technique)), **Gatsuuga** (( Piercing Fang)), **Kage Buyou** (( Shadow Leaf Dance)), **Konoha Senpuu** (( Leaf Spinning Wind)), **KageMane no Jutsu** ((Shadow Immatation Technique)), **Kanashibari no Jutsu** (( Body Freeze Technique)), **Katon Gaikakyuu no Jutsu** (( Fire Type- Empowered Fireball Skill)), **Mikazuki no Mai **((Dance of the Cresent Moon)), **Sabaku Kyuu **(( Desert Coffin)), **Suirou no Jutsu **((Water Prison Technique)), **Suna no Tate **(( Sand Shield )), **Suna no Yoroi **(( Armor of Sand )), and **Chakra Kyuushuu **((Energy Absorption)).

Neji on the other hand had accomplished the **Kage Buyou** ((Shadow Leaf Dance )), **Kanashibari no Jutsu **((Body Freeze Technique)), **Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu **((Fire Type-Empowered Fireball Skill)), **Konoha Senpuu** ((Leaf Spinning Wind)), **Sabaku Kyuu **((Desert Coffin)), ** Mikazuki no Mai **((Dance of the Cresent Moon)), **Suna no Tate** ((Sand Shield)), **Suna no Yoroi **((Armor of Sand)).

Both had benefitted from Neji's vast jutsu and training method knowledge, and all of the knowledge and experience that Naruto had acquired when he merged with the Kyuubi. Together they had grown stronger, and through that one week they had grown closer that they ever were. Now they could be called friends. They made an incredible team.

Both suddenly stopped on their illuminated forest path. They had heard something. They grew so still, the only movement around them was the cool southern wind which rushed gently past them, stirring the autumn colored leaves, causing a few to fall to the ground.

Someone or something was close by.

Both dropped into a crouch and stealthily moved in the direction that their senses seemed to scream was the source of the muffled noise they had heard. Using all their training, they moved without a sound, causing not even the air about them to stir as they silently proceeded forwards, and off the forest path.

They snuck unnoticed along until they ran into a medium sized wall which was a natural rock formation of sorts. The edged towards it and peered over the edge, and down the hill it was situated atop of.

Among the trees below stood two figures. One a female with shimmering brown hair that was up in an ornate fashion. She wore a silk gown of sorts, obviously being of a higher class, though her face was flushed with anger and her brown eyes were a blaze.

In front of the woman stood a man, a warrior of sorts judging by his build, clothing and weaponry. His hair was both messy and short, looking much like a black porcupine had crawled upon his scalp and became stuck. His face was likewise flushed, and his green eyes also shone with the fire of anger.

The two were obviously in an argument of sorts and it was likely their heated argument which Neji and Naruto had heard while trekking the route they had plotted out on both the large map of the entire continent, and the smaller map of the area.

"What 'cha think they are all worked up about?" Naruto quietly whispered to his black haired companion as the twp silently observed.

"No idea..." Neji mumbled back in response, pale eyes glued to the scene before them.

"What part of 'I NEED TO REST' don't you understand!" The woman yelled infuriated with her escort.

"What part of 'We have to get out of this forest before we are ambushed by bandits' didn't YOU understand?" The warrior man bellowed back, obviously not keen with having to stop every few seconds to allow the spoiled noble rest.

"Lovers quarrel..." Naruto muttered, earning a strange look being directed at him from his friend and companion.

"They are obviously not lovers Naruto. They clearly hate each others guts." The apathetic nineteen year old said, as his eyes moved back to the loud shouting match beyond.

"They have an infection!" Naruto piped up quietly before frowning. "No that's not it... Refection? ...No not that... Complection... No..." He continued muttering to himself redrawing Neji's attention back to him. "They're Mexican? ...Not that one either... Uh... Confection? ...Nope...Uh...Hexagon? No... uh..." He paused and thoughtfully began tapping his chin while mentally going through an entire list of words trying to find the right one.

"Infatuation?" Neji offered with a small but amused smile playing about his handsome lips.

"Yes! That's the one!" Naruto happily whispered back to his friend.

"I don't think you're right. They seem to hate each other's guts. Not to mention they seem they'd both be happy if the other suddenly up and croaked." The black haired young man supplied his reasons against the whole possibility, while inwardly smiling enjoying their debate.

"I don't know..." He said in a slight singsong voice. "Look at their body language." He suggested pointed towards them.

For several moments Neji did observe them, their silence only invaded by the continuing heated discussion. "Well..." Neji started, interrupting their silence. "To me they seem to want to pummel each other to death." He concluded after careful data gathering,

Both teens turned and sat with their backs to the small rock wall, obviously determined to argue this out. "But they do like each other, A LOT! It's in their scents!" The blonde exclaimed quietly.

"Are you certain? They didn't sound, act, nor show anything that would state they cared for each other." Neji continued, knowing he had to be right about this as he was well respected and known for his 100 accurate assessments of people. He had never yet been wrong, and he was positive he was right on this.

"Isn't it a little quiet?" Naruto questioned having just noted the voices had stopped yelling. Neji nodded in agreement, frowning ever so slightly.

"Have they come to an understanding?" The black haired Hyuuga silently questioned as strange sounds met their trained ears.

Both of them were curious and they slowly edged up and turned around peering over the rough and cracked summit of the rocks. What they saw made both their jaws drop, and their eyes grew large. "I told you..." Naruto mumbled as a furious blush dominated his cheeks as they both observed the two in a heated make out session that had clothing flying in every direction.

A pink tinged graced Neji's pale cheeks as the two teens were frozen to the spot, seemingly mesmerized by the sight of the man and woman coupling nearby.

A loud moan erupted from the woman causing both Neji and Naruto to regain their senses, and the two hurriedly duck back down behind the rock. Their eyes were still wide, and their cheeks seemed to be stained several brilliant shades of dark crimson.

"Okay.. You were right." Neji said after clearing his throat. "Are you ready to continue?" He asked, obviously wanting to get away from the rising heat that was circling over them both, making them in turn feel rather uncomfortable.

"Yup!" Naruto squeaked, his voice sounding like it had before his encounter with the jet dragon, and his sudden change from boyhood to manhood.

Silently they snuck away, the man's grunts, and the woman's screams seemingly following them for a long ways, until the sounds ended with an ear shattering conclusion, leaving the forest in an echoing silence.

Naruto and Neji finally got back onto the path, the blond still blushing furiously, though the black haired young man had quickly composed himself, forcefully thinking of anything that would send a chill down anyone's spine.

"So..." Naruto said in an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over them since they witnessed adult activity. He also wanted to get that image out of his innocent mind, and the only way to do something like that was to talk about something interesting or train.

The pale eyed Hyuuga reached into his pack and removed a roll of parchment and opened it as the blond silently peered over at the map he was unrolling.

"If we continue at our current pace, which includes both training and resting time, we should arrive at the Acidic Valley Ruins within two days. Then we have to complete that challenge before continuing on to the other keys." He summed up.

The blond nodded in understanding before his friend continued, "Judging by its name, Acidic Valley Ruins, and by the layout of the map for that area, it will be a difficult task. Firstly, the valley leaves us open to prying eyes and provides little to no hiding points. Should we run into something we can't yet handle, we will be forced to fight for out lives.

"Then again, this acid mention could be referring to an acid vapor which hovers within the valley, meaning we will have sufficient concealment but so will any other being." He paused momentarily. "I believe that the key is concealed within the deepest sector of the ruins, which according to this map, is located at the heart of the valley."

"Which means we have to think up our strategy before we get there, right?" Naruto asked looking up at his taller companion.

"Yes." Neji said with a light smile. "We need something to allow us to breath fresh air should there indeed be an acidic vapor. We will also need another jutsu that will prevent the acid from touching and disintegrating out flesh." He said thoughtfully.

"Meaning we have to create one or two new jutsus!" The blue eyed beauty said cheerfully, as he enjoyed creating new jutsus. "I think if we could create a sphere of air around us, we could pull it off. Something like those air bubbles we encountered within the Jet Dragon's body."

"Though instead of it being formed as a water barrier it should be a wind barrier, thus enabling clean air to enter, while preventing the possible mist from getting to us." Neji concluded and nodded at the teen to his side who was smiling a genuine vulpine smile.

They make one hell of a team.

Naruto ran his hands through a series of hand seals, before muttering a few words to form a new original jutsu. Neji observed as a vicious wind rose up and spiraled around the blond, sucking leaves, branches, rocks, and even himself, towards the swirling dome of pure air power.

Realizing his mistake, the blond hurriedly cancelled his jutsu, causing all air borne pieces to crumble to the ground. "Okay... That didn't work." Naruto said with a pout as he thoughtfully crossed his arms.

"Too much power, but I think that is the basic idea of what we want. Were you able to breath well in there?" The Hyuuga questioned while his calculating mind analyzed all that he had just seen.

The blond paused in mid pout. "Yup! The air was surprisingly fresh, and despite the viciousness on the exterior, the interior was supplied with a calm and really refreshing breeze. Very nice actually. It would have been great to have something like that during those hot summers back in Konoha." He said with a nod, causing Neji to chuckle.

"What words did you use?" The pale eyed teen asked, as they both continued walking side by side on the winding forest path, silence around them only broken by the blowing leaves, and the animals which inhabited the lands.

"**Swirling Wind Barrier.**" ((A/N: An attacks that are only in English are ones I devised for this story, but that still doesn't mean I own them. )) Naruto answered.

"Hmm... Maybe something along the lines of... **Wind Sphere Technique**, or even **Air Type-Wind Barrier Technique.**" Neji suggested while looking towards his companion.

"Hmm... The second would probably work..." Naruto added in before both of them ran through several hand seals.

"**Air Type-Wind Barrier Technique!**" They both echoed out and two twin air spheres swirled gently around their bodies.

"That was easy." Naruto stated as they both observed the calm and outwardly none effecting barrier, which like the vicious one before hand, provided each with a gentle breeze, letting them enjoy the pure, untainted air within.

"This is excellent, I've got two new jutsus." Naruto said with a small smile. Both jutsus he had tried worked well, and both would serve him well. "I remember when making jutsus this simple was such a difficult task." He said with a serene look in his shimmering eyes.

"Yes... But that was before we were sent to this place and met up with the Jet Dragons." Neji stated, likewise remembering the past. "With your body alterations, I wonder what your **Sexy no Jutsu** ((Sexy Technique)) would be like." Neji pondered aloud before his cheeks tinged pink with realization of what he had just said.

Naruto's cheeks flared a brilliant shade of crimson as his eyes shifted down in embarassement, eyes watching his feet with extreme detail. "Uh... I can... Show you..." Naruto muttered, his cheeks growing even redder.

"Kay..." Neji said blushing as he pulled his gaze away from the road ahead, and focused on his severaly red friend.

"**Sexy no Jutsu! **((Sexy Technique))" Naruto said as he was engulfed in a white smoke, which slowly rose reavealing the blond to any who should see it. What Neji saw caused his jaw to uncharacteristically drop, and his pale eyes to widen, as a dark blush engulfed his naturally pale cheeks.

There in plain sight stood Naruto in his Sexy form, yet it was different from all other times. Usually he turned into a female with blond hair, blue eyes, whisker marks, and a lusciously cured body, but this new looking form was way sexier.

Naruto was still male, a completely naked and completely drop dead gorgeous teen that was only covered by a white cloud hovering around his nether regions. His body was the same, revealing what he looked like under the clothing, though all visible flesh seemed to be covered in a hot layer of sweat, that make his body absolutely irresistible.

Where his seal used to sit was a dark fiery tattoo that swirled around his navel and disappeared just above the smoke clouds. His hair had grown longer, though it remained bound in its holder casting an erotic and exotic look to him He was drop dead sexy.

"I didn't know I could use my own body for this technique." Naruto muttered, too busy observing himself to even notice his friend's reaction. "That means I can trick both men and women into having nosebleeds and passing out!" The blond babe exclaimed before doing a wicked sweet victory dance.

The dance, to Neji, looked even more erotic than it should have been, and he could practically feel the heat rise around them, all coolness provided by the jutsus that had used, then cancelled, seemingly gone within a heart beat, and he could feel his pants growing uncomfortably tighter.

Composing his features, but not even trying to conceal the obvious large bulge at the front of his pant, he clears his throat. "Come on Naruto... Let's run the rest of the way, that way we can get the key faster, and in turn get home more quickly." Neji suggested as he swallowed hard.

"Sure!" Naruto exclaimed as he dispelled his jutsu, leaving him standing fully clothed. "Uh... Neji...?" The blond started as he caught sight of Neji's obvious discomfort.

"Never mind." The Hyuuga stated turning away from his companion and leaping skywards, and landing smoothly on the branches of the trees.

The blue eyed fox teen followed silently, landing on a branch near by to his friend, though his cheeks were once again a brilliant color as he mulled over a few things in his mind.

Silently they sprinted through the trees, passing nesting birds, falling leaves, animals and some really strange looking insects which would probably give Shino a field day.

They ran for hours, the sun getting lower and lower with each passing minute, soon it would be sundown, then dark.

Just as the sun sunk to the horizon, the trees began to thin out, causing them both to return to the ground. The grass covered ground which was a massive hill slopping upwards. The valley was just beyond that ridge.

"Let's make camp for the night, and tackle the Ruins in the morning." Neji suggested as he looked around at their position. "This spot seems good enough, though we should probably set up some traps and have shift watches during the night." He finished off.

Togther they set up a series of traps, ones that were invisible to the naked eye. No one could get passed those, not without suffering from sheer frustration at their numbers and complicity. Tonight they would be safe, but tomorrow, who knows.

Once they were settled in with a small smokeless fire burning, they began to eat some bread and cheese which had been given to them as parting food from the Lord and his daughter. They ate in silence, probably too embarrassed over the earlier events, which Neji no longer suffered from, as he was able to clear his mind and control his body while running.

"I wish we had some ramen." Naruto mumbled to himself as he half glared, half pouted at his bread, cheese, and water. It was so bland, and dull. Plus it lacked all the deliciousness of instant noodles.

His words caused a smile to grace Neji's lips, but it served to do more then just that. It seemingly erased all the tension between the two. "I'll take first watch." The Hyuuga announced as they finished their pitiful meal.

"Kay... Night Neji-kun." Naruto said before yawning widely. "Wake me when it's my watch." He finished as he curled under a blanket he had retrieved from his bag.

"Goodnight Naruto-kun." The pale eyed teen whispered, just as the blond drifted off to sleep with a small yet content smile upon his handsome face.

'Such a trying day... Though tomorrow will be more so.' Neji thought to himself as he observed his sleeping companion, while still keeping track of their surroundings.

Tomorrow would be difficult, but they were ready.

That's it for this chapter, sorry it's shorter. I'll try to update ASAP, so please review!

Thank you for Readying .


	6. Acid and Memories

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor anything related to this series. I merely took characters, info, and such and molded it into a new story. I own nothing.

**Warnings:** This story will include, malexmale pairings, femalexfemale pairings, and average pairings. There will be violence, and course language as, let's face it, this is a story involving ninjas and such.

**Pairings:** Pairings will remain the same as posted in the previous chapter. If you are curious please check there, and I do apologize for finding it too troublesome to repost it here, meaning I shall no longer post it unless there has been a change added.

**A/N:** Another thank you to all those who have read and review. Your opinions on my story are greatly appreciated. So here is the next chapter for you all.

**Chapter 6**

Dawn seemingly crept up early on the two other worlders, and as its light illuminated the area around them, Naruto, who was on last watch, awakened his companion. Today was the day they'd face the first challenge for the keys, and hopefully they would prevail.

"Morning." Naruto cheerfully greeted the black haired Hyuuga, who in response nodded while stifling a yawn. "Here eat up." Naruto said with a smile as he held some freshly roasted rabbit meat out to his friend, having obviously hunted and cooked while his companion still slept.

Neji looked at Naruto with a blush while taking his breakfast muttering a soft, though easily heard thank you. He was blushing for many different reasons. One, because the blond has been kind enough to make him breakfast, which no one had ever done before. Two, because of what happened yesterday involving the jutsu. And three, he had spent his entire shift gazing down at his peacefully dozing companion, all the while thinking over a variety of things.

Things he planned on keeping to himself, for now...

"Sleep well?" Naruto questioned as he sat beside his genius friend, and delicately began eating his food as well. The morning had a calming air to it, the silence almost endearing. The quietness only broken by the melodies sung by the feathered creatures of the lands, and the rustling of leaves as wild animals wondered the earth.

"Yes." The Hyuuga answered with a smile after swallowing his mouthful of excellently prepared rabbit meat. "You cook well, even when out in the wilderness." He complimented the blue eyed young man with pure honesty and surprise.

"Thanks." The demon teen answered with a healthy blush spreading widely over his tanned cheeks, causing the whisker marks to become far more noticeable with the color addition. "I honestly wasn't sure it would turn out right, but most of the herbs I used at home when cooking were similar to the ones here, so I plucked a few that I could tell was safe to eat." He summed it all up modestly, while running his hand over the back of his neck.

"It is still delicious." Neji stated as he took another bite of his positively yummy breakfast.

Their meal passed by silently, the serenity of the morning quite peacefully, the atmosphere comfortable as they watched the sunrise in silence. Noting how similar yet different it was to sunrises back in their world.

Here the sun glowed purple at the point where their sun was red. Where their sun was a brilliant golden yellow, this sun was a crimson color, yet both provide the same white natural light. It was so familiar, that it eased the pain of homesickness, allowing them to enjoy the here and now.

It wasn't so different. It just wasn't home.

"Let's go." Neji concluded having quickly packed everything up after eating.

"Kay." Naruto said with a nod as he tossed dirt over them flames successfully smouldering them without smoke to come. It was a nifty piece of knowledge that he had gained after merging with the Kyuubi. If it weren't for the fox he wouldn't be able to do half the stuff he did, nor would he be even near intelligent enough to compete with the best of the shinobi.

With camp successfully broken the two began their trek up the medium sized hill. The very hill which lead into the heart of the valley where they would meet their first challenge head on. With the sun, which loomed just barely as high as the trees behind them, at their back, giving them an air of power. Should anyone have looked on at the two handsome men who walked with such determination and power, both encased within the sun's rays, they would instantly fall into deep infatuation with them.

They looked better then good. They looked great.

The trek was silent and quiet, though it progressed at a rapid pace due to the firmness of the valley mound and the dryness of the emerald and ruby colored grass bellow. Both ground and plant giving the two ninjas ample support on their uphill walk.

Together they reached the top in record time and both males were allowed their first glance at the valley below.

Below lie the valley which was filled with a thick mist of a pukey green color. The acidic vapor which was famously known, and a landmark to the valley covered mostly everything in sight, making it difficult to see much of anything.

They could easily see the ground nearby to them, but as the valley dipped down further, the poisonous gases grew thicker and thicker. Off in the distance they could easily make out the bordering valley peaks, showing off the small but obviously deep parameter.

It was smaller then they had expected and for that they were glad.

Blond eyes scanned the thick mist below. "Neji... I think I can see the silhouette of the ruins." Naruto muttered as he pointed a delicate yet strong looking hand towards the valley's heart.

The black haired young man followed his gaze, squinting his eyes slightly, and after a few moments he too noticed the hardly visible shadow of something dark beneath the green fog. "I think you're right." He said after a moment of careful observation.

"Something's down there..." The blue eyed one said as he squinted his eyes staring down into the valley.

"The ruins..." The Hyuuga stated with a smile and a soft chuckle.

"I know that!" He exclaimed hotly. "I meant that there is something else down there!" He said with a nod as his eyes followed something his comrade couldn't see.

"What do you suppose it is?" Neji asked as he pushed his humor aside and study the hidden turf below.

"No idea... I'm not even going to attempt to catch its scent, since I might accidentally inhale some of the acid mist." The blond mumbled in a low voice that was easily picked up my his comrade.

"Hang on..." Neji started as veins appeared beside his eyes as he had activated his bloodline limit, the Byakugan. "You're right..." He started as his advanced vision scanned the area. "There is something... But I can only make out the shadows. The vapor is blocking the Byakugan." He finished an edge of awe in his voice.

Never before had any mist or vapor been capable of rendering his _skill_ next to useless.

This place was just one big strange mystery after another.

"What do you think it is?" The blonde asked as his friend released his Byakugan and the veins disappeared as well.

"My guess... It is some sort of creature that has a natural immunity to these conditions. Most likely a breed of creature that had arrived here and had become mutated, starting a whole new species of creatures. Meaning they have home field advantage." He summed up.

"Damn... Sometimes I wish you weren't so smart... Then we wouldn't have to have some grotesque idea of what we're going to face." Naruto muttered with a pout directed at his companion.

Neji chuckled lightly before gently bopping his friend over the head. "Idiot..." The black haired teen said softly, smiling slightly.

"I am not!" Naruto responded with a frown to go with his adorable pout.

"Yes you are!" The Hyuuga said in an uncharacteristic singsong voice as he quickly ran his hands through a set of seals. "**Air Type- Wind Barrier Technique**." He said quietly before leaping down several feet into the mist.

"Damn it!" Naruto muttered as his hands hurriedly formed the same seals and he likewise said, "**Air Type- Wind Barrier Technique.**" And he leapt down into the mist landing beside his friend. "Let's do it." He stated from within his bubble as he held up his hand in a fist of challenge.

Together they marched downwards, slowly being further engulfed by the acidic mists with each step they took. The slope was an easy one to walk, and it propelled them forwards at a faster pace then they would have gone if they had been walking a flat path.

The very sunlight seemed to be cut out from the thick fog overhead. Almost as though the green mist had an eerie light of its own. It cast green shadows everywhere, making everything to seem alive an moving. That in turn caused the two to go on edge, adrenaline slowly coming in.

Their feet made no noise, but the wind of the bubbles surrounding them gently blew the mist around them in intricate patterns, scattering them tenderly. It was quite the sight to behold.

In silence they walked on, blue and white eyes scanning the area as they felt as though they were being watched. By what? They had no idea, for they saw nor sensed anyone. The only indication either had was that prickling sensation at the back of their necks.

"We come in peace!" Naruto said out loud as he paused in his steps which also caused Neji to pause to regard his companion with an amused smile and a quirked brow.

"You would not believe how entertaining that sounded." The handsome prodigy stated with a chuckle as he eyed his naive yet grown friend and ally.

"Shh!" He whispered obviously annoyed with Neji for making unnecessary noise. "I'm trying to make contact." He whispered in a low barely audible voice.

Pale eyes rolled in amusement as their owner crossed his arms over his chest and silently waited.

A slithering sound reached both their ears and they simultaneously tensed, eyes and ears searching for something. A second noise rang out, but this one sounded much more like a clicking sound. Deep throated grunts and cawing followed the first two noises and suddenly the area was surrounded with echo sounds.

"What is it?" Naruto whispered as the two edged back to back as close as they could get to the other with their jutsu bubbles separating them from everything.

"I don't know..." Neji mumbled over his shoulder.

A sudden deep forest green blur flung itself at Naruto's bubble and collided with it before being repelled and moving out of sight once more.

"My guess, it isn't friendly." Neji stated with a light smirk on his pale face.

"No kidding! What gave you that idea?" Naruto dead panned in a sarcastic voice, which was something the pale eyed Hyuuga never thought was possible, yet it seemed Naruto had pulled yet another rabbit from his head. Metaphorically speaking of course.

The green blur reappeared in their line of vision as it circled around their air shields trying to locate a possible weak point in the barrier that separated it from its prey.

The demon teen reached into his arm holster and withdrew a single kunai knife. "If these barriers let nothing enter, do you suppose it will let something pass?" Neji questioned as he noticed his friend's course of action.

"No idea." Naruto answered with an honest shrug as his eyes easily trailed the blurred form racing quickly about them. He took aim and let loose his assault, launching his weapon with great strength towards the point where the blur would hit.

The kunai passed through the air barrier unaffecting the shield, and easily struck the creature beyond. A squeak of surprise escaped the creature as the projectile went right through the thing's body as though it was formed of air.

"I think we have a problem..." Naruto stated mouth wide.

"It simply passed through..." The Hyuuga mumbled to himself.

"I kinda got that captain obvious." The blond said annoyed at his partner, while they both continued to trail the creature's path. "Now what?" He asked a few seconds later as a deep frown marred his brow.

"Well... We'll have to simply keep moving." He paused before continuing. "It can't reach us from within the jutsu, and we can't seemingly harm it from our current position, meaning we have to just keep going. Perhaps it will become annoyed and leave us." Neji explained as he began back on route, his comrade hurriedly following.

As they moved forward through the eerie green mists, more dark blurs swirled around them in an intricate dance of some foreign sort. Their noises following the two, and seemingly echoed loudly as though the vapor served as a sound magnifier. It was in all honesty annoyed, especially to Naruto who, thanks to the Kyuubi, had delicate and precise hearing.

They stumbled along the lifeless ground of blackened and poisoned earth, stumbling slightly over loose rocks or crumbling dirt. The acidic mist, growing far more dense as the ground, which had previously been sloped, became level once more. The green clouds about them not even permitting the once visible blurs to be revealed, but they both knew they were still out there stalking them as they could distinctly hear all the sounds they made.

"We're here." Neji announced to his comrade in arms as his foot landed upon a worn cobble stone step which lead upwards, signifying that the Ruins' first level was slightly above ground. "These steps look as though they could crumble any second." The black haired prodigy stated as he crouched down and observed the stones.

Each step was formed of a multitude of stones, each bearing the look of use and the corrosion of time. They had to be ancient. Thousands upon thousands of cracks lined the stairs, even though they could only see three ahead, the rest, if there was any, was concealed in the swirling clouds of green.

"Any clue as to where the key would be." Naruto questioned as he too noted the poor condition of the steps ahead.

"My guess would have to be at the heart of the bottom level. Otherwise it would be too easy." The pale eyed young man theorized as he moved to stand once more. "Up for this?" He asked in an almost teasing manner.

"You better believe I am!" The blond stated enthusiastically as his trademark grin appeared upon his handsome face. "Let's go!" He said in a happy voice, gaining a nod of agreement from the gorgeous young man beside him.

They silently ascended the steps, one slow and cautious step after the next. Neither made any sudden movements nor wanting the cause a shift in the stones which would eventually lead to the full our collapse of the stairs. Which would be bad. Very bad.

A creaking groan split through the air, and both males' eyes' widened as they felt the shift. "Damn it!" Naruto cursed as they began sprinting upwards, hoping to reach the top before the steps gave out.

"Shit!" Naruto exclaimed as the stairs beneath his feet gave way causing his wind barrier jutsu to poof away in a burst of white smoke which was hurriedly swallowed by the billowing green vapor.

He fell through the air feeling the acid burn his bare skin as he plummeted into darkness below. His lungs felt as though they were set ablaze as the mist entered into his wind tunnel, circling through his body as though red hot blades were being shoved into various parts of his body.

His clothing, which had been enchanted by the Lord's daughter, stood form and strong against the acidic assault, staying perfectly normal and unfazed as angry red burns appeared on his bare flesh. He felt like he was being burnt alive.

The air was purged from his lungs as he blindly collided with a solid ground completely winded. He gasped in mouthfuls of pure air, painfully trying to bring oxygen back into his damaged body. The acidic mist didn't seem to reach this low.

Naruto was lucky. He was able to bring in air to his starved lungs, and had to only suffer the tinges of pain in the burns that riddled all visible parts of his flesh. His vision was slowly returning, enabling him to see the last of the debris to trickle to the ground around him.

He was in some sort of underground layer, or simply put, just in a lower level of the ruins.

The blond slowly and shakily pushed himself into a kneeling position, hands and wobbling knees firmly squared upon the stone floor on which he had landed. He was in what resembled a corridor, a hallway of sorts which only traveled north in a stretch so far and dark that he could not see its end.

A sound rang through the air, the noise made when someone or something landed heavily, yet steadily on the ground after having leapt or fell from a high place.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Neji questioned worriedly as he dropped his jutsu and raced over to the down and obviously wounded form of his friend.

"Just peachy! I had an excellent fall, and the burning was just an added bonus. When next I fall perhaps you should join me?" He asked in a clearly annoyed and purely sarcastic voice which basically said 'Are you crazy? No one can be alright after falling that distance and landing on a not so soft surface, especially after having the bejeezus burned out of them.'

"Right... Sorry, lame questioned. But will you be alright?" The black haired man questioned in concern as he kneeled down beside the blond and tenderly placed his hand upon a section of the unburnt skin on his shoulder.

"Yeah... Just give me a few minutes and my healing abilities ough'ta kick in." He stated, and the black haired Hyuuga could definitely see the wounds as they slowly healed, sealed and completely disappeared leaving no evidence of ever being there.

"That must come in handy." The pale eyed prodigy stated as he assisted his comrade to his feet.

"Sure does, especially when I'm kicking Sasuke-teme's ass!" The blond cheerfully exclaimed as he remembered several past spars between him and his rival who also happened to be his closest and most dearest friend. A best friend to be precise.

"I thought he was the one who always kicked your ass." Neji commented teasingly as he smiled at his close friend, who in return pouted and glared lethally at the taller man.

"They were draws okay?" He said still pouting and acting like an adorable little boy who had just lost the opportunity to play outside since it was raining.

"Okay okay... Anyways we better keep going, we've already come this far." The black haired man said with a foreign grin upon his face which would have caused many girls to faint in its sheer gorgeousness.

"Wow... You should smile more often." Naruto mumbled before blushing and clearing his throat. "I...uh...mean, we should hurry up and get going. Yeah!" He exclaimed sheepishly as he ran his hand embarrassedly over the back of his neck as a few beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead and past his cheek.

The pale eyed teen, whose cheeks were tinged a pale pink at the words spoken by his team mate, nodded. "Right... Since we did go down three levels, my guess is this is the bottom floor since it was the only level that didn't give out after you fell." He stated with a knowledgeable nod.

"Good thing I found a short cut. Now we don't have to spend so much time in this strange place." The blond stated proudly as he smiled fox like.

"More like you ..._fell_ upon the shortcut." His friend stated with a light chuckle proving his amusement over the blond's fall.

"Ha..Ha, real funny Neji." The blond muttered crossly as he folded his arms over his chest in a sign of pure annoyance. Today just wasn't his day it seemed. Everything was out to get him, especially gravity.

The blond began walking forwards, Neji at his heals, as he cautiously and slowly headed north, heading towards the tunnel that seemingly stretched on for miles upon countless miles with no end in sight. Their steps echoed lightly off the floor, walls and ceiling, its beat filling the air.

The air was stale, belaying the fact that none had passed here in countless years, maybe even centuries, for the air had remained unmoving within its stone prison. It was still perfectly safe to breath yet not all that appealing to the nose, especially an incredibly accurate one.

"So... How long do you think we gotta keep walking this tunnel?" Naruto asked quietly, his deep voice echoing enticingly off the walls, successfully breaking the continuous patter of their feet.

"I have no clue... It could be just ahead or it could be an incredibly ridiculous distance from where we are." Neji stated matter of factly, for one he or she who had designed these ruins, back when they were a flourishing temple and not ruins. Since only an extremely odd person would construct worn and torn ruins.

The sound of metal dragging against metal rang through the air causing both of them to freeze, and squint ahead into the darkness, towards the source of the noise. "Something's down here..." Neji mumbled as he reached towards his side and placed his hand upon the hilt of his sword which had never once been wielded for battle.

"No kidding captain obvious." Naruto muttered with a roll of his eyes as he copied his teammate's move of placing his hand upon his similarly unwielded blade. Gifts of the Lord and his Daughter.

A clunking of armored feet upon stone echoed out slowly, almost as though the owner of said sounds was moving very slowly. almost with extreme difficulty. A limp or something along those lines.

Two sounds of drawing swords echoed through the air as both males drew their blade in synch, the noise just like the metal upon metal sound of earlier. "No better place to learn to wield a new weapon then the heat of battle." Naruto said slyly, as he had recognized the earlier sound and he highly doubted it was friendly.

Neji nodded in agreement, knowing full well that pressure in battle always lead to improvement on skills used. If they were to wield their newly acquired swords perhaps they could become far better then just meager swordsmen.

Crunching was the next sound added into the mix, though it was quiet to the point that it would have been hardly noticeable in any other location, but since the walls echoed and noises seemed more vivid in the dark, it was easily heard. The shifting of amour accompanied the crunching cracking and walking sounds, all growing louder and louder.

"What the hell is that!" Naruto exclaimed as a look of creeped out disgust appeared upon his face as he eyed the thing before him. It was a man.

Or at least it used to be. Now it resembled a walking collage of bones and rusted out armor. It was a walking, moving and sword holding skeleton, that was held together by means unknown, how it even walked straight neither knew. It had no eyes, only bones and metal was visible, a ghastly sight to be sure.

"The undead...?" Neji asked wondering if he had hit the nail on the head.

"Yuck..." Naruto said under his breath not even remotely pleased with having a horrendous thing before them, plus the smell was enough to turn his stomach, and that was not good. "Do we kill it?" He asked his friend feeling unsure.

"Technically it already is dead... But I think it would be better for us to take care of it before it gets us." Neji stated with a light frown.

"Well that shouldn't be too difficult. It moves slower than anyone I've ever seen. It can't be that strong either if it is having that much problem lugging itself around like that." The blond concluded as he cautiously watched its approach. "Who's taking it?"

"Me." Neji stated with a smirk which caused Naruto to pout and whine, though the black haired man simply ignored him.

The Hyuuga prodigy stepped forward, sword held at the ready before him as he eyed his opponent with an unreadable scan. In a moderately quick movement he launched himself forward aiming a downwards slash at the skull of the skeleton in an attempt to cleave its head in two.

A sword intercepted the assault, blocking the swing with ease which shocked both men of Konohagure. The thing was fast, fast enough to parry the blow and push the ninja backwards as he struggled with its strength. "Damn..." He muttered as he leapt back a few meters to get out of the way.

Neji had barely landed before his breath was forcefully knocked out of him as the skeleton creature rammed its mighty broad and bony shoulder into his chest sending him to the ground, sliding against the ground for several feet.

The pale eyed teen barely had enough time to block a downwards slash that would have likely cut his chest and stomach wide, breath escaping him in short clipped pants. He brought his foot up and landed a powerful kick to the thing's mid section sending it likewise skidding backwards.

This would be far more difficult then either had perceived, but that is what they get for underestimating their foe. A worse move could never be made.

Neji hurriedly regained his footing and dropped into a serious stance, one that meant business. Both stared each other down, though you couldn't tell the thing was as it didn't have any eyes.

In blurs they leapt forward and clashed sword to rusty sword in a cloud of angry red and yellow sparks which caused light to flare out flickering through the dark tunnel momentarily before the burning chips burnt out. They moved in a rush of swings and parries, twirling like the greatest of sword wielders.

It seemed the change Neji had underwent had given him the ability to move through sword battles, though he hadn't realized it since it was on a subconscious level. His hidden talent was also aided by his years of dedicated training in the line of a shonobi. He was holding his own.

A few red cuts graced his pale skin, dripping rivulets of crimson life water down to the ground. The wounds were only minor cuts and scraps caused from narrow dodges, and his opponent would have looked the same if he had flesh to cut or blood to spill.

Jabs and thrusts were made as they collided in another fray of fiery sparks, each twirling and moving through the battle as though it was a choreographed danced fit for the highest of audiences, even though in reality it was a fight to the death.

Neji ducked gracefully under a swing, and had three hairs cut off but he payed them no heed. He used his move which had gotten him below the thing's guard and swung his blade with all his might and beheaded the creature with the sickening sound of metal passing through bones.

"You did it!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he jumped into the air with his fist raised in a demonstration of victory. "That was so cool!" He added cheerfully as he landed back on the ground.

Neji smiled as he put away his blade and began walking back towards his bright companion. "I guess the sword isn't that difficult to use. Just think of it as an extended kunai knife." He said with a shrug.

"Let's get going." He added and both turned and continued on, stepping lightly over the pile of bones which had fallen apart as it struck the ground after having been beheaded. If that was the only thing thrown at them, this would be a breeze.

In silence they walked on, time trickled by with no end in sight. "This is ridiculous..." Naruto mumbled as he placed his hands in his pockets and frowned. "It can't get any worse then this..." He added with a pout.

The tunnel they were in suddenly began shaking with tremendous force, enough to be a massive earthquake. Specks of dust and stone fell from both the ceiling and walls, as giant cracks appeared all over the stone tunnel. It was going to crumble, and soon.

"You just had to say it!" Neji stated as he hurriedly grabbed a hold of Naruto's hand and together they began racing forward with all the speed that they could as the tunnel crumbled behind them. Stone, dust and tainted earth piled into the tunnel in a massive flow of dust. It was all caving in, each fall in turn being only mere seconds behind their heals.

Their path began to turn, though they weren't sure wether it was actually turning as the ground was shaking far worse then before, and the loud echoing noise it created was deafening. As they completed the turn they saw a glowing yellow light which indicated the end of the tunnel and they turned on the after burners.

As they reached they end they were engulfed in blinding yellow light as the ground stopped its shaking and the rest of the tunnel completely collapsed leaving nothing of it still standing. As they drew to a stop, Neji, who was in the lead, fell down a massive crater like hole in floor, one that had massive and jagged spikes placed at the bottom, waiting innocently for someone to fall.

He only fell a few feet before slamming painfully hard into the stone edge of the hole. In his left hand he gripped Naruto's hand like a lifeline, and the blond did the same, as he lie on his stomach holding his friend up. "Hold...on Neji... I'll get .. you up." He panted obviously exhausted from the run, but still determined not to let his tiredness get into his way of saving his allie and friend.

With a grunt of sheer strain, Naruto latched his other hand onto Neji's free one and in a fluid move he heaved with all his might. He pulled so hard his face was turning bright red, and slowly but steadily, the black haired teen was dragged upwards. He was pulled over the edge in a manner of minutes, and once he was safe both collapsed to the ground panting and sweating like there was no tomorrow.

"Thank... you..." Neji stated while still breathing heavily.

"Heh...What are...friends for?" Naruto said breathlessly as both friends looked at each other smiling slightly between the pants.

"Next time... don't ask that ...question... it always... makes things worse." Neji said with a scornful smirk on his face as he poked the blond in the stomach.

"Don't worry... I've learnt my...lesson." The demon teen stated sheepishly as he slowly sat up his breathing less radical.

"Good." Neji said with a nod as he too sat up, his breath less intense as well.

"Who would have thought holding hands would save your life." Naruto stated with a smile before blushing at what he had just said, realizing that they had indeed been holding hands.

Neji merely chuckled at the blond's words and actions as he got to his feet and held a hand out to Naruto. "Come on let's go." He stated with a tiny smile gracing his stoic lips.

The blue eyed teen looked at his friend eyes wide and cheeks still pink, before he smiled and accepted the hand up and was pulled to his feet. "At least we know that tunnel didn't travel on forever." Naruto stated jokingly as he stretched and looked around at their surroundings.

They were in some sort of large chamber, one with a massive symmetrical hole in its center. The crater stretched far in the room and it took up much of the floor leaving only a foot wide path on the sides.

Neji looked back at the tunnel they came through and sighed. "It seems there is only one way to go now." He stated before turning to look at the other end of the room where a massive doorway stood. The door looked impressive for it was utterly massive and the shadows cast from the massive burning torches gave it an intimidating edge.

"I bet a bowl of ramen when we get back that the key is behind that door." Naruto stated as he eyed the intricate and detailed carvings on the door in the distance.

"You are probably right... But I don't think it'll be easy to get the key." Neji said lightly as he lead the way to the side where the ledge was. Silently they walked the narrow edge at a moderate pace, since they were ninjas the height didn't even slightly bother them, as they were used to it.

After they passed the edge which would have frightened any human not trained in the ways of the shinobi, they moved over to the door and stood in front of its towering presence. "How do we open it?" Naruto questioned with a frown as he noted there were no handles or grips that could be used.

The door suddenly creak inwards causing both to blink. "Voice activated?" The blond asked curiously while Neji merely shrugged as he did not have an answer.

In silence they entered into a torch lite chamber which had to be at least five times the size of the previous room and at the far end of the room stood a tall pedestal and resting upon it was a shuriken shaped object that was more then likely the key they had come for.

"It's a trap." Neji stated as he distrustfully eyed the key before he gazed around the room noting that there were two open doorways that were filled with dark shadows. "There is someone or something else in here with us." He summed up as he regarded the two doorways as an echoing boom rang out from behind them causing both to jump slightly.

The door had closed. "Uh oh... That can't be good." Naruto muttered with a pout as he too eyed the room, taking special note of the two door ways. "What do you suppose lurks behind door number one?" The blonde asked as he pointed to the door closest to them on the eastern wall. "Or behind door number two?" He asked as he pointed to the door on the western wall.

"I'm uncertain." The black haired Hyuuga answered with a light frown as he regarded the key at the opposite. "I don't suppose they'll attack us once we get the key, meaning if we swipe it fast enough we can avoid a full out battle." He concluded, and received a nod of understanding from the blond.

"Race you!" Naruto said with a smile.

"You're on!" Neji stated with a smirk.

In a burst of speed the two shinobi leapt off and ran towards the pedestal, eyes focused on their surroundings as they lunged nearer to their goal.

A massive growl cut sharply through the air as two dark blurs raced out from each tunnel, and moved directly into their path causing the two males to skid to a stop and eye up their newest challenge.

Snakes.

Not your average snakes either. They were giganteum, stretching at least one hundred meters in length, and most thick that some tree trunks. All four bore their fangs at the two ninjas, poison dripping from pearly white and lethal teeth onto the ground where it sizzled and destroyed the stones below.

Their scales shone a deep black, looking like thick and very sturdy armor upon the snakes' bodies. Their eyes shone crimson and looked almost hypnotic. They were swaying slightly, heads held high as they stared down their meal before them.

"Hope you aren't afraid of snakes." Neji muttered to his partner teasingly.

"I ain't afraid of anything." The stated as he unsheathed his blade and held it at the ready. The black haired Hyuuga followed suite. "The big ones are mine!" Naruto stated with his trademark grin in place.

"Which big ones? They are all the same size." The pale eyed man stated with a sigh.

"The ones on the left of course." He said as he lunged forwards towards the one on the outside, while Neji leapt towards the one of the far right. The battle was on.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" ((Shadow Clone Technique)) Naruto exclaimed as three clones appeared beside him, charging at the two snakes that he called dibs on. The four Naruto's lunged at the two left side snakes and swung mightily at its skin.

Swords collided against armored scales resulting in sparks that flew several meters without causing any damage whatsoever to the serpent before them. "That could be a problem." He stated as a goofy look appeared on his face. "But I like battles that are seemingly impossible.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" ((Shadow Clone Technique)) Naruto shouted again, bringing out a horde of Naruto lookalike and half of which ran off to assist Neji.

The black haired Hyuuga was busy dodging fangs and tails of the two snakes which had ganged up on him. Frowning slightly at the creatures' speed, strength and seemingly impenetrable armor.

Neji smiled as one of the clones blocked the assault buying him a second to avoid being hit before the clone burst into white smoke and disappeared. It was a good thing the blond knew about teamwork, otherwise he would likely be sporting several large bruises with possible shattered bones.

" **Kanashibari no Jutsu**" ((Body Freeze Technique)) Neji shouted as he jumped and successfully froze one of the snakes in its tracks. "**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu.**" ((Fire Type- Empowered Fireball Skill)) He shouted as he landed and blew a massive ball of fire towards the motionless snake while Naruto and his clones kept the other three busy.

The serpent was engulf by the fire, and burned into mere ashes, its armour no match for such high powered flames. One down three to go.

Naruto's hands moved through a series of seals as he evaded a whipping tail which collided with the ground below and knocking a large hole into it. "**Mikazuki no Mai**" ((Dance of the Crescent Moon)) He shouted and a new clone appeared beside him.

Together both Naruto and the new clone, which was simular to that of a shadow clone, leapt back into the fray and raced towards the nearest snake. They moved together in a twirling sword dance all around the snake, and it knew not which way to look and soon became highly dizzy with trying to keep up with the dance.

Once it was dizzy enough, both Naruto and the clone leapt up and simultaneously ran their swords deep into the serpent's crimson eyes, causing it to hiss and thrash with pain while they pushed the blades in to the hilt.

The colossal snake crumbled but not before the clone disappeared and Naruto pulled his sword back out and jumped. The blond landed softly on the ground, and the now dead snake fell just behind him with an earthshaking thud which loosened dirt from the ceiling. Two down two to go.

The two remaining snakes took on an air of what seemed like cautiousness as they paused in their assault to eye the horde of creatures before them. The one closest to them lunged forward with great speed and bite the nearest clone hopping it was the real one, but was disappointed as it poofed into smoke.

Veins appeared on either side of the Hyuuga's pale eyes as he activated his Byakuugan before launching towards the snake which had bitten the clone to smoke and shouted " **Jyuuken **" (( Gentle Fist)).

He aimed light punches and kicks towards the snake's vital organ points, though it didn't seemingly effect his foe. Since his movements were quick, he didn't have to worry about dodging the snake's assaults as they were too slow to get him. Neji landed one more shot towards the creatures heart before leaping off the scaled monster and landing smoothly while deactivating his Byakuugan.

Neji had landed with his back towards the brute he had seemingly just attacked but to no avail, and the serpent lunged towards him. It's eyes suddenly widened before it collapsed dead on the ground, for Neji had channelled enough of his own chakra into its major organs damaging them to the point of no repair. A trick only done by those of the Hyuuga clan as the Byakuugan and excellent chakra control are key elements in that attack.

Three down one to go.

"Show off." Naruto muttered on his breath as he dispelled all the clones leaving him alone to fight the last of the snakes guarding the key. " **KageMane no Jutsu!**" ((Shadow Imitation Technique)) Naruto yelled as his shadow shot out and grabbed onto the snake's, causing the snake to go ridged and move into the straight position Naruto was standing in. "Hurry, Neji go get the key! I'll hold this last one off!" Naruto exclaimed and his partner nodded before sprinting off towards the pedestal.

Neji moved quickly and leapt into the air while still being several metres away. He turned his jump into a flip, landing hands down on the pedestal, one hand grabbing the key and in a fluent move he pushed himself backwards off of the thing before landing smoothly on the ground.

As he landed, Naruto released his jutsu hold on the snake who's eyes turned from their crimson colour to a deep yellow before it slithered off down one of the tunnels.

A humming sound filled the air and to the right of the pedestal which once held the key, a door appeared as the wall slid to the side with a scraping sound. "That's our way out." Naruto stated with a smirk a he race over to his partner right fist held out as though he intended to punch him.

Their fists meet with an echoing sound as both men smiled brilliantly at the other. "We did it Naruto." Neji stated with a smile as he lowered his hand.

"One down six to go!" The blond stated happily as they both turned and ascended the stairs that lie beyond the newly opened doors.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'One year.' Sasuke thought to himself as he sat below a towering tree in Team Seven's old training grounds. He was breathing deeply, sweat beads dripping down his face and bare chest. He had been training since dawn and it was now high noon and he was taking a break.

'Dobe...Why did you die?' He questioned silently, though his face was passive. He had asked that question so many times since that mission. With Naruto's death he had lost a piece of him, which piece that was he had yet to discover.

'Perhaps if you hadn't died... I wouldn't have been cursed...' He contemplated sadly. Sure the curse seal he was given by Orochimaru gave him extreme power, but he didn't like that every sleeping moment he was submitted to listening to an unknown voice mutter the good points to power.

He had no desire to acquire power so falsely. If he wanted to grow stronger then he currently was then he'd do it himself. Naruto had shown him that the way to true power is through training and perseverance. To never give up, and the promises of easy powers seemed to insult the blond ninja's memory. Something he vowed never to do.

The blond had been his best friend he now realized. They had an intense rivalry that made the two always do their best, pushing each other to the limits. Together they had grown stronger and it also drew them closer together.

The dark blue haired teen stood and walked with his hands resting in the pockets of his black cargo pants towards the monument stone. The very stone which bore all the names of ninja who have perished in battle.

He stopped as he stood before it, onyx eyes locked onto a certain name without even having to look at it. Over the past year he had come to this spot to think, to clear his mind, and to gain a sense of piece.

"Naruto you got your wish..." The boy stated quietly as he remembered their survival test.

Naruto had first seen the stone and without knowing its purpose said that he wanted his name on the stone, and now it was. He had also gained the respect and acceptance of most of the villagers, though there was still a few who deeply loathed him.

"I wish you could see how things turned out." He added as he stepped forward and rang a long and slender finger over the name of his dearest friend.

"Dobe..." He muttered affectionately as an uncharacteristic smile graced his face and a soft look appeared in his dark eyes.

With a deep sigh he pulled away from the stone his features dropping back into their characteristic apathetic nature, as cold as stone and as legible as a water ravaged book written in an alien language. He was Uchiha Sasuke, the boy who very rarely showed any form of emotion. Only the late blond ninja had ever been able to gain a reaction from him, and even after death he was still the only to still get a reaction.

Some things just never change.

Sasuke turned his back to the stone and walked back over to the tree he had been resting under earlier, and there he grabbed his fishnet top and put it on before placing his hands once more into his pockets and walking back towards the village.

He was hungry. So he was off to get himself some lunch before he resumed training.

His walk back was silent and uneventful, and the first restaurant where he could get food was the noodle shop that had the best ramen in the whole village. 'Naruto's favourite place to get ramen.' He thought while inwardly smiling, though showing no emotions outwards.

The last time Sasuke had eaten there was with Naruto, just before they went off to capture the stray cat with Gai's team. Naruto had eaten sixteen bowls worth of ramen in a record time of nine minutes.

Without any further thought the dark haired teen walked over to the stand and moved the cloth pieces overhead out of his way as he moved to sit down on one of the empty stools. He took his seat right next to two individuals who were obviously there together. One was large, muscular and an average height. The other was slim and tall with hair up in a spiky ponytail.

It was Choji and Shikamaru.

Choji's bulk had changed from pillowy blubber into hard steel muscles, and no one dared to call him fatso again.

Shikamaru was basically the same. He had only grown a few inches taller, but that was to be expected as he had yet to hit his growth spurt.

"Another bowl of miso soup please." Choji stated as he pushed his third bowl out of the way, while his teammate merely leaned more heavily on the arm propped up on the counter. He would have sighed but it would require too much energy and the teen still held the title of Konoha's laziest genius.

A pipping hot bowl of miso soup was gently placed before the large teen by the shop owner's daughter Ayame. The girl then turned towards the new customer with a smile. "Hi! What can I get you?" She asked happily as she walked over to him, her voice drawing the other two's attention over to the dark haired teen.

"Chicken flavoured ramen." He answered without thinking, his voice emotionless.

"Kay, just a few minutes." She stated before heading back into the kitchen to deliver the new order to her father.

"Hey Sasuke." Choji greeted politely after swallowing a mouthful of his soup.

"Hn..." The Uchiha responded with a slight nod in their direction.

"Che..." Was all the Nara said as anything more would be too bothersome. ((A/N: For those that don't know this, Nara is Shikamaru's sir name.))

"Hey Sasuke why don't you come join us at the spa house after lunch. You could use a break since I've heard you've been training and doing missions none stop lately." Choji said with a genuine smile as Ayame returned and placed Sasuke's ramen in front of him.

The onyx eyed teen nodded his thanks to the girl before looking over at the two others in contemplation. He wasn't a social person, but he agreed that a short break would be nice. "Alright." He answered with a nod, causing the larger of the three to smile, and Shikamaru's eyes to widen slightly.

Sasuke silently cracked his chopsticks apart and began to eat his noodles which were Naruto's favourite food.

Once they were finished eating and paying for their meals, they left for the spa house.

The spa house wasn't too terribly far from the food place and they arrived quickly enough. Once inside and at the front counter, they were met with the female receptionist who asked if they had a reservation.

"Its under my name, Nara Shikamaru." The handsome but lazy teen stated and the girl nodded.

"Head right in. Spa room number 3, the largest one, is yours." The woman stated with a smile and the three of them made their way inside.

They moved without conversation into the change rooms where they changed out of their clothing and weapons and into towels which were firmly wrapped around their waists. they then proceeded to their reserved spring.

The spring was indeed large for it stretched the length of their old classroom back when they were in the academy. It was deep near the middle and shallow with natural seating edges here and their.

Sulfur was in the air telling the tale of the freshness of the underground spring source. It was simple and closed off from view and noise by white walls decorated with flowers and other peaceful scenery.

It was indeed a place of relaxation.

All three of them slipped gracefully into the water before relaxing against the edges. This was the life.

Choji smiled and let out a tremendous sigh of sheer pleasure as the water worked its magic. Sasuke let a small hardly noticeable smile grace his lips as he relaxed for the first time in over a year.

Shikamaru on the other hand merely leaned back and closed his eyes as it was far too troublesome to show any reaction, though he was completely content he went through the trouble of making them some reservations.

Sasuke shifted his position the smile still playing about his lips as he closed his onyx eyes. 'I promised to grow strong enough for the both of us dobe, and I will...' He thought silently to himself, unaware that a certain lazy genius had opened his eyes and was currently studying him.

'He's smiling...Must be thinking of Naruto. How troublesome.' The ninja thought to himself. 'But I suppose he doesn't go a day without remembering the blond idiot.' He thought with an air of affection.

Sure he was lazy, but even lazy people had feelings. 'You two were always so troublesome, and now you've taken up Naruto's portion as well... What was he to you?' He thought silently before mentally shrugging and letting his thoughts drift off. Thinking too hard over someone's feelings was tiring.

- - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - -

That's it for this chapter. And I'm proud to say it is my longest yet. Please Review and thank you for reading!


	7. Realizations and Incredible Heat

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, that honor belongs solely to its creator Masashi Kishimoto, but that doesn't mean I didn't wish I owned and created it.

**Warnings**: They are the same as they are in all previous chapters, if curious please check it out.

**Pairings:** Same as posted in previous chapters, if curious please check it out.

**A/N:** Another big thank you to all who have read and all who have reviewed. I am happy that some of you have found interest in my story, and I'm looking forward to writing more, so please keep up the reviews and flames. They are helpful. Oh and also, I currently have my editor working on my earlier chapters so sooner or later I'll be having them edited so that they aren't so poor in spelling and grammatical aspects. Thank you for your patience and understand.

**Chapter 7**

"Oi guys, I gotta run." Choji informed the silent Uchiha and the bored Nara. "I promised I'd meet Ino this afternoon." He finished with a cheery red blush on his face that had absolutely nothing to do the heat of the water or its steam.

"Che... Women are so troublesome." Shikamaru stated as he thought about his female teammate while inwardly shuddering. 'That girl can be scary.' He silently admitted, his pride be damned as it was too troublesome to really care about.

"That's what you always say, and personally I think women are great. Especially if they can cook!" The larger of the three added as he pulled himself out of the spring and walked off towards the change room while waving a farewell to his fellow ninjas.

"I agree with Shikamaru." Sasuke said quietly, but since the atmosphere of their bathing room was so silent the lazy nin was easily able to pick it up.

'The Uchiha is definitely an enigma.' The brunette thought to himself as he lazily opened one eye are regarded the teen. 'One second he's brooding, the next he is being all emo, and the next he is close to happy. He has more mood swings than a woman. How troublesome.' He thought with an audible sigh as he leaned further back against the spring's edge. This place would have been perfect if there was no ceiling, that way he could glance up at the clouds and be completely at ease, despite the odd company.

'One year.' The Uchiha prodigy thought to himself as he looked down at the slightly rippled murky waters. 'Today marks the one year point. It had gone by so fast, and yet I don't feel as though I am over it yet. A part of me screams that he is still alive, but that isn't possible, no one and nothing could survive that blast. Even if he had miraculously survived against all odds, he would have long since returned.' He blinked several times, unaware of chestnut eyes observing him.

"You're thinking about Naruto." Shikamaru stated not even bothering to ask it as a question for the answer was pretty obvious. The dark haired teen before him gained a serene or distant look in his eyes while thinking of the blond. Not to mention his body language changed from that of his usually cocky self, to that of a lost child. 'Strange.'

Sasuke looked up, utterly shocked with his eyes slightly widened.

"Your reaction is all the answer I needed. How troublesome." The lazy nin sighed as he closed his eyes.

"That obvious?" Sasuke asked as he looked back down with a soft smile playing about his lips. Over the time he had known the blond he had opened up slightly. Thanks to Naruto that is, but after his death he became more distant. So now why was he opening up? And to the lazy genius of all people? He didn't know.

"What was he to you?" The teen asked bluntly, always to the point as beating around the bush was always too bothersome for his tastes.

Sasuke paused in contemplation over wether or not to explain this to a teen who was almost a stranger to him. "He was my teammate. My greatest rival, and my best friend." The Uchiha answered honestly after a minute's hesitation.

The brown haired teen would have nodded but he felt too lazy to do so.

Shikamaru, who was already a jounin, was a strategic genius that had easily passed the chunnin then jounin exams with ease despite his laziness. He had surpassed all the others from rookie nine in status, but that didn't mean he was stronger then them. Just better jounin material.

"Why do you push yourself?" the young jounin questioned absently after a few seconds of peaceful silence.

Sasuke took a look of deep thought for several moments, internally debating wether to explain this or not. 'What do I have to lose?' He mentally asked himself. "I need to be strong enough to avenge my clan and kill my elder brother... Itachi. It was he that slew my family." He said before pausing. "And... to honor Naruto's memory by becoming strong enough for the both of us." He answered honestly and gained a small smile as he felt a great load had been removed from his shoulders.

"Che...Sounds troublesome." Shikamaru summed up, though he did store his newly acquired information away for future reference.

"It can be. But it doesn't matter. Being strong and killing Itachi are the two goals I will complete." He finished, onyx eyes looking at the water's murky surface.

"What will you do when you finish that?" The lazy jounin questioned apathetically, obviously not to happy with having to speak so much, though it did serve to help them understand one another.

The question caught the Uchiha off guard causing a frown to appear on his generally stoic face. 'What will I do?' He silently questioned himself having never before thought of what he would do after he had completely his goal of killing his brother. "I...have nothing planned as of yet." He answered it in a way to make it sound like he'd find something else to live for and to drive him further.

'As I thought.' The ponytail wearing jounin sighed and shook his head. This was so bothersome.

"Perhaps I'll aim to become ANBU captain or even a hunter nin. Or perhaps I'll try to learn every jutsu possible." Sasuke thought out loud with a sigh. "No matter, I'll find something to tend to once I destroy Itachi." He summed up with a shrug which clearly indicated that was final. "What about you? What's your drive? What's your plan?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes in thought. Any goal to strive towards was just too plain troublesome. "I just need to be strong enough to protect those I care for." He stated tiredly, though one could tell his words were the truth.

"Hnn..." Sasuke responded obviously back to his normal brooding moody self.

The rest of the bath was silent each too absorbed in their thoughts to really try and start pointless chatter. It was oddly comforting to Sasuke that just hanging out with someone like the lazy genius was enough to allow him to relax in peace. Have a break from the normal everyday life of training, missions and more training.

Their bath soon came to an end as the reserved period of time expired and the kind receptionist came to inform them of that before they silently pulled themselves out of the hot and relaxing spring where they then walked into the change rooms. As they dried and changed back into their daily attire Sasuke felt he had to say something. "Thanks. I had fun." He said though he did have issues saying it.

"Che... Don't mention it." The Nara merely replied with a shrug stating that thanks weren't necessary as he too had enjoyed the leisure time they had spent together. "Perhaps another time?" He suggested while stifling a yawn and nodding when he gained the Uchiha's approval over the suggestion.

With that they silently exited the building and were back outside in the shimmering sunlight where they waved farewell and went their separate ways.

Sasuke silently placed his hands within the confines of his pocket while he walked aimlessly around not really feeling much like training at the moment, not after having spent such a relaxing time. He walked through the village occasionally stopping to look at certain items displayed in store windows, all the while ignoring the looks directed at him.

He was used to eyes being on him for one reason or another. Wether it be the adults which respected him for his name, or the fans for his wealth and power, or his fangirls for his looks. They all thought of him as the last Uchiha, survivor of one of the greatest clans to ever exist within Konoha. And he hated it.

Not one of the simple villagers cared for him as Sasuke. So he likewise cared for none of them. Their was the occasional person he respected, though those individuals had gained his respect. There were very few people who thought of him as anyone but the great Uchiha. Naruto was one of those people.

To the blond, his title and wealth be damned. It was one of the many reasons the two had grown close with a friendly rivalry. They simply accepted each other. Sasuke, though he didn't know of the demon at the time, was still accepting of the blond despite the harsh words and sneers the adults of the village graced the blond ninja with.

Naruto was Naruto and Sasuke was Sasuke. It was very comforting to the onyx eyed teen though he had never said such a thing to Naruto, and he now never would.

Sasuke sighed inwardly as he moved away from the last window display of some fancy weaponry which had caught his attention. 'Perhaps I ought do something for Naruto...' He thought to himself before altering his course and heading towards the opposite end of the town where the Uchiha estates were located.

The walk home was relatively quick for the chunin prodigy who had been the best of the rookie nine during their academy years. He was easily able to move through thick crowds unnoticed and unseen and avoid all the fangirls who stalked him for a living. Being a ninja definitely had its upsides, but it did also have its downside.

Within ten minutes he stood before towering black gates which bore the Uchiha insignia on them declaring to all that the lands beyond the massive walls before them belonged to the prestigious Uchiha clan. The large mansion beyond with its gorgeous lawns, walkways, and flowerbeds seemed almost saddening for lack of any other life form. It was quiet and solemn, and many could easily see why Sasuke was the way he turned out after the massacre.

The onyx eyed teen entered and shut the creaking gates behind him before silently treading up the main walkway which was surrounded by the most beautiful of roses one would ever see. Sasuke eyed the flowers remembering how his mother had tended to them on a regular basis and allowed not a soul to care for them but herself.

After his mother had been slain he took it upon himself to tend to the roses she had once loved so dearly. He paused in his steps a frown marring his brow as he moved over to the nearest rose bush and crouched down beside it. A rose was just starting to bloom, which was odd considering all the others had long since bloomed.

It wasn't just the lateness of this flower that caught his attention, it was also its color.

The rose was a clear sky blue one. A color that had never once been found naturally in roses. 'It looks just like his eyes.' Sasuke thought to himself as he noted they were the exact shade of his best friends eyes. 'Strange...' He added as an afterthought, wondering just what in the world was going on.

He continued to stare at the plant, the feeling he got from doing so was an odd one. He felt...content. At peace, a feeling he rarely found since the death of his dearest friend. It was odd to be feeling as such by just gazing at a single rose.

A light smile graced Sasuke's lips as he gently plucked the rose from its bush careful not to prick his hand on the thorns, before he resumed his course indoors.

He silently moved through the large and silent front entrance way of his mansion and moved down the main hall towards a massive marble stairwell which lead upwards, his foots steps echoing loudly off all the walls.

Sasuke payed his surroundings no attention as he moved to the second level of his home as he headed towards his bedroom.

Once he arrived in his large and surprisingly messy bedroom he left his door wide as he had no need to be quiet as not a soul would ever hear him.

"Naruto..." He voiced aloud as he dark eyes gazed kindly at the plant before he moved beside his bed and stood before his night stand. He hurriedly removed the dying flowers from the vase on the stand's surface and tenderly set the single rose into the water filled holder.

A sudden pain ripped through his mind and he stumbled backwards onto the carpeted floor with a thud, unconscious.

((A/N: The italic font below means that it is a dream of sorts, and once it is no longer italic it is out of the dream Just thought I'd let you all know.))

_Sasuke stood suspended in a swirling and chilling darkness as he peered around at his surroundings. "Where am I?" He questioned himself as he found not a single thing that was familiar to him in the darkness of the area._

_Before he could further question his location he felt the great sensation of plummeting downwards with unparallel speed, plunging deeper and deeper into the inky abyss. His breathing was slightly up due to the fear coursing through his veins at not knowing where the bottom was and if he would crash into it and perish._

_His heartbeat was frantic in his ears, the sound echoing painfully loud in the blackness which was silently and unnerving. He screwed onyx eyes closed and braced himself for impact, yet it never came._

_Cautiously he cracked his left eye open a fraction of an inch and noticed he was no longer plunging in eternal darkness, but was now standing in a dark stairwell which seemed to be filled with molds and water. "What the..." He muttered aloud to himself as he looked as his transparent hands with a look of shock adorning his generally stoic face._

_"Am I.." He trailed off not wanting to say the word 'dead' when referring to himself. Before he could further elaborate on his thoughts a sudden sound of quick footsteps behind him gathered his attention, causing him to spin around and peer through the gloomy demi darkness of the ancient stone stairwell._

_Out from the darkness came two figures who were silently treading up the stairs, the smaller of the two eyeing a trinket that the Uchiha could not see. His eyes widened when he noticed the darker haired ones eyes. They were purple white. 'A Hyuuga?' He thought to himself as they moved closer to him, having not noticed the chunin before them._

_'He looks... like an older version of Neji... and his companion...' He paused his thought trail as he looked at the blond and his eyes widened. He looked very similar to the fourth Hokage, and like an older version of a certain blond haired dobe. "Naruto..." He whispered before fully racing the few meters that separated them._

_He flung himself at the blond as if to embrace him, but as they met he passed right through the other and disappeared into another void of darkness. "Naruto! Naruto! Where are you?" He called out as he turned each and every way in the black abyss that surrounded him._

_"Naruto!" He shouted more desperate as he whipped around once more and was immediately encased in the next vision. He stood on a stone bridge and gazed around at his surroundings. "Where.." He trailed off as a Lund thumping sound echoed behind him and the air and dirt at his feet moved in a gust of unnaturally formed wind._

_Onyx eyes once again widened as he spotted both Neji and Naruto, the same as he had last seen them at the mission, standing before them scanning the area. He even noticed they both had two identical burn marks on their tops. He frowned as he noted they didn't even seem to notice him._

"_Humans!" Rang out behind the dark haired Uchiha, causing him to spin around and look at the creature that stood behind him with a look of shock and disgust. The creature snarled, mouth opening wide showing off black, cracked teeth, that fit perfectly well with his lumpy scared and wrinkly sludge coloured skin. Beady black eyes shone grimly out from behind tendrils of oily matted greying hair._

_The thing stood only four metres tall, though what it lacked in height it made up for in width. Around his waist it wore a large loincloth, that way it could cover himself decently due to his immense body weight, though the cloth was worn and torn, and the colour of vomit. The entire creature made Sasuke want to throw up the remains of his last meal._

_"What the hell is THAT?" Naruto demanded, causing Sasuke to gaze back at the blond as the creature's putrid scent reached his delicate nose causing dark onyx eyes to water slightly, much like Naruto's were._

"_Muff'igus! My bridge! Pays da priceor bes aten!" Muff'igus shouted and Naruto blinked before peering at Neji, eyes demanding a translation while Sasuke merely observed not understanding what it was that he was currently witnessing. Though he did know that it was unbelievably strange._

"_Apparently this is his bridge and he requires a fee for us to be on it, if we don't pay he'll eat us." Neji explained, his words easily reaching the transparent chunin. Naruto's mouth formed an 'O' in comprehension before regarding the strangely named though totally was totally ugly. His reaction so predictable that it made Sasuke smile fondly knowing he couldn't be seen. _

"_Ya right!" Naruto said hotly as he crossed his arms over his chest causing Sasuke to smirk at the blond's determination. Something he sorely missed. "Bridges don't belong to anyone, we aren't paying." He said in a huff._

_A growl vibrated from the beast's mouth as it narrowed eyes. "No pays?" It asked, gross voice dangerously low._

"_We will not pay." Neji said in a agreement to the blond, nodding his head slightly though his body did tense, ready for what ever the creature would throw at them. Sasuke had to hand it to the Hyuuga who held his composure well even in the light of a threat from a foul creature._

_The creature bristled, a strange snorting like sound escaping him as he drew his face and nose higher into the air. "What the..." The blond teen started but didn't get to finish as Muff'igus launched his head forward as his mouth open and spat a massive wad of slick, black and putrid spit which hurtled towards the boys, but not before passing through the startled and disturbed Uchiha who was utterly thankful the glob of spit passed through his body and hadn't landed on him._

_They both easily evaded the assault, much to the relief of Sasuke, and it landed with a sickening sound on the bridge, splattering little particles into the air some of which struck the arm of Naruto's orange jumpsuit. "That was nasty!" The boy said staring in distaste at the little fleck on his clothing--much to the agreement of a certain chunin-- when his eyes widened._

_Sauske's eyes widened in shock as the spit on his teammate's sleeve released a gurgling hiss as it began to eat away at both the bridge and the jumpsuit. "Gah!" The blue eyed ninja exclaimed as he quickly tore his sleeve off and tossed it to the ground where it was quickly devoured by the acid and joined in burning a whole through the bridge as the massive part of the spit ball did. Now Sasuke was even more thankful that the crap hadn't landed on him, he'd be dead as it had passed right through his stomach._

_"Holy..." Sasuke muttered to himself as he saw the hole which went all the way down and he could now see the water below._

_Darkness encased the teen once more and he quickly glanced around once again, though this time far more calm._

_He turned and was once more enveloped in another scene. He stood at what appeared to be a massive coliseum. It was filled with a load of people dressed from glowing gowns to cruddy rags, and everyone cheered loudly. He blinked in confusion, wondering where he was before he heard two sets of foot steps echo behind him causing him to turn._

_Out came both Neji and Naruto, both wearing masks of indifference, which was an odd sight to behold for Uchiha for Naruto generally bore an open mask facade. 'I wonder...' He thought to himself as the teens moved so that they were standing ten metres apart facing the other._

_"They are fighting?" He asked aloud, shocked that the two would engage in battle with each other._

_"Begin!" A man's voice cut through the air while the blond and the Hyuuga stared each other down before clashing in a burst of mind boggling speed._

_Sasuke was once more encased in darkness, though not for long as he was suddenly plunged into yet another scene._

_He stood stock still at the centre of a village, one that was being torn asunder by ravishing winds and hunks of debris which were flung airborne courtesy of the slowly descending funnel which lead to a massive cylindrical shape which danced with purple lightning._

_"What is that?" He muttered in awe as two figures appeared within his sight. It was Naruto and Neji who were racing towards an upturned wagon. The scene around him suddenly blurred, and everything quickened in speed as though he were watching a movie that was being fast forwarded._

_It went on as such for several moments before returning to normal time speed. Onyx eyes widened in shock as he witnessed two blue tentacle things come down from the funnel, shooting towards a red headed girl that the ninjas had freed. "What are they?" He asked as he watched Naruto push the girl out of the way and get dragged forcefully backwards while Neji took off with the girl. "Dobe..." Sasuke muttered worriedly as he watched his best friend disappear into the swirling void._

_The scene went dark yet again before revealing another. He stood in a chamber which was lite blue by what looked like a solidified lake in the room. The light danced intricately off the silk dangling from the towering pillars. He eyed the room, while Naruto and Neji did the same. Just where were they?_

_"Wow..." The blonde whispered in awe beside him as clear blue eyes roamed the mystical place which just screamed magic._

_"I'm glad you like it." A voice that was definitely male rang out, though the owner of the voice wasn't visible, but that didn't stop the Uchiha from being momentarily startled from his observations._

_"Whose there!" The blond demanded as he released his companion's hand and turned each way trying to locate the voice._

_"Calm yourself, I will not harm either of you." The voice said again though a light chuckle could be heard in his words which only made Sasuke feel on edge. That voice sounded relatively familiar._

_"Yea right! You abducted us, assaulted us with giant bubbles, sicced savage invisible teddy bears on us, and dropped us down a dark hole onto a giant sponge! How can we trust you!" Sasuke snickered after Naruto demanded hotly while crossed his arms over his chest and glared around the room, almost as though he was hoping it would reach the voice's owner. Naruto was such an odd individual._

_An amused chuckle rang through the air causing the blond to further frown as Sasuke merely attempted to locate the voice's owner. "That was a test." The voice simply stated._

_"What sort of test?" Neji inquired curiously._

_"A test to see if you had it in you to visit me." The unseen male stated._

_"Why would we want to visit you! Also why was the test so flimsy?" Naruto asked loudly._

_"I didn't want to give you a difficult time reaching me as I admit that I was eager to meet you both. Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga." The sound of his companion's names rolling off the voice's tongue was shocking to Sasuke as he hadn't expected it to now the two chunin._

_"How do you know our names?" The blue eyed fox demon vessel asked in shock, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging slightly open as he continued to peer around, obviously not familiar with the voice._

_"I know everything."_

_"Oh God... don't tell me it's another guy like Sasuke who is full of himself..." Naruto mumbled to himself as he uncrossed his arms and set them at his sides, though a certain dark haired shinobi easily caught the comment and scowled wishing he could just whack the blond over the head for that unneeded comment._

_"Why did you wish to meet with us?" Neji questioned as his gaze lingered on the glowing solid lake which they stood upon and Sasuke had to admit that the Hyuuga did hold a valuable point on that one._

_"To grant you a simple gift." The voice said._

_"A gift?" Naruto asked eagerly, for he rarely received gifts and his eagerness caused the Uchiha to grin serenely, his anger gone._

_"Yes." The voice said._

_"What sort of gift?" The blond questioned happily as he bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement while Sasuke merely rolled his eyes, feeling tempted to say 'dobe' even though it wouldn't reach its target's ears._

_"Close your eyes and you shall receive it." The voice said causing the invisible teen to frown._

_"Kay!" The blue eyed boy exclaimed as he cheerfully closed his eyes, though Neji closed his more slowly, not entirely sure he trusted this bodiless voice that held an air of authority and superiority to him. Heck even Sasuke didn't think it was wise to comply with its wishes._

_The area went black yet again as Sasuke was hurled into yet another scene. He stood within a large chamber and spotted Naruto and Neji battling with massive snakes before Neji broke free and took claim of a strange objet that vaguely resembled a kunai. _

_It went dark again, but this time no new scene came. "Sasuke?" A voice clipped out through the air causing the raven-haired teen to spin around, looking for the source of the voice._

_"Who's there?" He asked as he noted how familiar yet unfamiliar the voice had sounded._

_The image of the older version of Naruto and Neji appeared before him, the blond smiling sincerely while his kitsune tail--which Sasuke had just now noticed-- swung leisurely back and forth, only distinguishable by the flaming crimson colour of the tip._

_"Naruto? Neji?" He questioned, feeling unsure whether it was them or not._

_"Sasuke-teme." Naruto said with a playful smirk. "Wait for us kay? Cause we will definitely be coming back." He said with certainty and determination glimmering brightly in his indigo rimmed blue-eyes. The Hyuuga nodded in agreement._

_"I will dobe. I promise." Sasuke said with a nod while a glimmer of happiness appeared in his normally glacial eyes. "But try not to take to long." He added as an after thought causing the blond to chuckle as the two faded from sight._

_"Take care..." Naruto's voice faded off as both he and Neji vanished from the eternal darkness._

_"You too." Sasuke whispered back into the nothingness._

Onyx eyes opened, and a groan escaped full lips as a pale hand moved up to run through messy raven hair. "What the..." His voice trailed off as the memories of his sudden dream flared into his mind and a true smile flowed over his lips. "Naruto...Neji... I'll wait as long as it takes." He stated determinedly as he pushed himself off the floor while mentally cursing that he hadn't fallen on the bed instead of the solid floor.

Dark eyes landed upon the rose he had earlier found. The startling blue one. They were alive. Far away yet still alive and doing everything within there power to get back. But he was completely certain that one day they would return, and together they will be far stronger then ever. 'A day I can not wait for...' His thoughts trailed off as his face fell back into its mask of indifference.

A sudden poof sounded from behind him as a familiar chakra signalled let itself be known the teen. "Kakai-sensei?" Sasuke said inquiringly as he turned and gazed at his silver haired teacher.

"Yo!" The jounin said his usually greeting as his one visible eye arked in a show of happiness. "I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd drop by." The man stated honestly as his eye landed on the strange coloured rose.

Sasuke noted the line of his perverted teacher's sight and smiled, shocking his teacher by his outward show of emotions. "Reminds you of Naruto's eyes." He stated simply as he looked over to the rose.

"Sasuke..." The jounin started but was interrupted by his student holding his hand up in a sign that said he wished not to be interrupted.

"They are alive." He began, and that small statement made Kakashi's eyes widened. "I had a vision. I saw them both alive and well, if not worn for wear." He explained. "Where they are I have no idea since I saw many alien things. Things only found in the heart of the greatest of fantasy novels. They seem to be growing stronger, both working on trying to find a way out of wherever they are and back here where they belonged." He finished before looking back at his sensei, his eyes filled with honesty and conviction.

The elite jounin merely nodded, he could tell Sasuke was being true, and he could easily tell that the boy wasn't off his rocker, meaning that they were both alive. "I'm glad. Do you know when they'll return?" He questioned curiously.

"No... They never said. But from what I can gather they will return. Also it seems that Naruto had merged with the nine tails..." He stated as an after thought, remembering the fox tail which swung innocently behind the teen.

Kakashi's eye widened dramatically as he stared at his student. "Naruto and the fox have become one?" He questioned to make sure he had heard correctly and the onyx-eyed teen merely nodded.

"We should talk to Tsunade-sama about this tomorrow morning. But for now, I think it would be best that no one else knows." He said and Sasuke nodded in agreement. Too many unwanted questions would be asked, and the teen didn't have the patience needed to answer the same questions over and over again.

"Okay now to more important matters," Kakashi stated happily before continuing. "I actually came here since I thought it was time to teach you a brand-new technique. The **Chidori** ((One Thousand Birds))."

The two teens went up the stairs at a quick pace, trying to get out of the creepy run down, and easy to crumble ruins which held the first key which was now within their procession. "So..." Naruto began in an attempt to kill the silence which was just eating away at them. "Where are we going to go next?" He questioned, honestly curious about their next destination.

"We first have to exit the ruins, then the valley on the western ridge so that we can head West. Then we will be crossing several days' worth of plain lands before tackling a large desert. But the desert is uncharted land and highly dangerous according to the map's legend. After we exit the desert we will be encountered by more plain lands before we run into a lake which we must cross. About three days away from the lake is the Looming Sky Forest." Neji summed up as he looked over a mental picture of the map he had closely studied.

Naruto released a low whistling sound. "Damn...That sounds like it'll take a lot of time...Oh well. That just gives us more time for training, and I have some new jutsu ideas to try out." He said as a glowing light appeared somewhere up ahead in the stairwell.

Minutes later they stepped out into sunlight. "Uh... Where is all the poisonous vapours?" Naruto questioned as he looked around at the ruined lands that were ravished by the poison for a long time.

"I suppose the mists were simply there to make finding the key all the more difficult, and now that the key has been claimed, my guess is it lost its purpose." He explained after carefully looking around. "But I do suggest we hurry out of here, after all there were those unidentifiable creatures roaming these parts."

"Right...Forgot about those." Naruto stated sheepishly as he ran his hand over the back of his neck.

Neji lead the way out of the valley, choosing the best course. One that was relatively easy for them to trek up, and that had many rock out clippings which they could use for coverage. They moved like a noiseless wind, moving unhindered through the ravished lands. Neither out of breath from their uphill walk, and within an hour they had reached the edge of the western hill.

They took a slight break at the peak of the hill and gazed out at the plain lands below, and Naruto, with his incredible vision thanks to the merging, was easily able to spy the desert in the distance. "That desert will be one hell of a pain in the ass." Naruto muttered aloud earning him a light smile from his friend.

"You can see it from here?" Neji questioned after a moment as he squinted his pale eyes in hopes of being able to see it as well.

"I'm half demon now, duh!" Naruto stated as he pointed a clawed finger at his tail.

"I knew that..." Neji stated with a blush having obviously forgotten that factor before clearing his throat. "Lets move." He stated as he began his descent.

"Race ya to the bottom!" The blood kitsune exclaimed enthusiastically as he tore off towards the bottom, using gravity to his advantage. His companion blinked momentarily before smirking and taking off after the fox-teen likewise using gravity.

In bursts of laughter they neared the bottom in record time, though the blond clumsily tripped and ended up somersaulting down the last ten metres or so causing Neji to break out in a fir of laughter while Naruto ended up sprawled dizzily on the ground bellow.

Neji silently approached his ally, laughter hidden, though amusement was clearly visible on his pale features as he knelt down beside the blue eyed klux. "Have a nice trip? Will I see you next fall?" He asked jokingly, but Naruto immediately snapped out of his state only to gaze shocked at the black haired teen.

"Did...did you, Hyuuga Neji, just ... crack a joke?" He asked disbelievingly as he stared unashamedly at the pale eyed teen kneeling at his side and gazing at him in amusement, only to receive a nod. "Oh my god! It's the apocalypse! Hell has surely frozen over!" Naruto wailed over dramatically as he fake feinted, causing Neji to chuckle.

"You are quite the drama queen." Neji stated as he stood and kindly held his hand out towards the sprawled out blond. Naruto quirked one eye open and smile foxily up at his companion before accepting the hand and being pulled gently to his feet. "Are you alright?" He asked, only now showing concern over his friends fall.

"Well ain't that the icing on the cake." Naruto muttered as he crossed his arms in a huff. "Point and laugh first, then ask if I'm alright. I think you have serious issues Neji-kun." He whined with a pout causing Neji to once more chuckle.

"Lets go." The Hyuuga said as he turned West and began walking, the blond fox-teen bounding after him all the while still pouting.

"Naruto...Earlier you said you had new jutsu ideas?" Neji inquired as he glanced over at the creative prankster, who immediately dropped his sulking pout and grinned brightly.

"Hell ya! Being in that place made me come up with a new nifty ideas if I do say so myself. I'd say they are excellent...but not as excellent as ramen... I wonder if they have ramen here. I hope they do..." The teen's mind disappeared on the thoughts of a world without ramen and it would be a grim one.

The pale eyed teen inwardly rolled his eyes while shaking his head at the blonde's seemingly one track mind. "Back to the jutsu..." Neji said hinting, hoping his teammate would get the hint to elaborate on his ideas.

"Huh? Oh! Well...Where to start," He trailed off momentarily before continuing "I know! How about some Taijutsu that can break through any type of wall or door, cause that would be useful. Or acid rain, earthquakes, being trapped in complete darkness, or something that negates the effects of gravity!" He summed up several of his ideas causing the Hyuuga to blink.

'Just where does he come up with this stuff?' The black haired teen questioned silently before chuckling. "Naruto...Those are some pretty decent ideas. Shall we get to work on trying them? After all we have some time before we arrive at the desert." Neji suggested and his companion eagerly agreed.

Neji and Naruto stood in silence on the edge of a jagged rock out clipping, white and blue with indigo coloured eyes stared out at the vast desert beyond, sand and sun in all directions. "Shit..." Naruto muttered. "It's bigger then I thought it would be." He admitted with a hint of humour.

"Well...We have a massive supply of water and rations on us, so we should be able to handle crossing this barren sand trap. But I suppose if worst comes to worst we could just use one of our jutsu to give us water." Neji stated assuringly as he leapt down from their perched point, the blond hurriedly following.

"I guess... I can't wait 'till we can try out the new techniques!" Naruto cheerfully said, suddenly looking each and everyway for a sudden enemy which would pop out of the ground or sand before them shouting 'boo!' or something like that.

"Naruto..." The Hyuuga stated warningly causing the blonde to blush in embarrassment.

"Uh.. sorry. Ready?" He piped up and he received a curt nod and together they stepped into the land of sand, The Wispy Desert.

The heat smashed into them with a force of a steel wall, causing their breath to be knocked right out of them. Panting, they both pulled the scorching hot desert air into their now burning lungs. That single step made it feel as though they had stepped through a portal of sorts and into a different, and infinitely hotter world, but they wouldn't let that stop them.

"Neji. Welcome to hell, population: us." Naruto stated seriously as he regained his breath, as beads of perspiration trailed down his face and neck.

Neji, not wanting to talk for fear of creating more hot air in their current environment, began walking forward with renewed vigour, eagerly hoping to get out as soon as possible, meaning they had to hurry. With this eat who knew how long either would last with their pitiful canteens of water.

And so they walked in silence, both instantly soaked through from sweat, and there was no breeze to even slightly help in cooling the baking teens down. They now officially knew how cookies felt when plopped into the cruel oven, and they had only been in the desert for twenty minutes.

They trekked cautiously through the blinding white sand, while the burning air around them caused things in the distance to look distorted as though effected by some strange unknown genjutsu, though they knew the distortions to be heat waves.

The damned waves even made the sun look like a drunken illusion, waving blindingly in the sky, almost taunting them for having walked into the area. It even made the cactuses, which were either blue or purple, look even stranger then normal. The only living thing in sight, besides the creepy desert plants, were them.

Naruto pulled out his canteen as they ascended a towering sand dune and took a long sip of the hot water causing him to cringe, but he was thankful for something to remove the dryness of his mouth and throat, not to mention his now chapped lips. If they ever made it out of here, he would never go into another desert again. No one could pay him enough in either gold or ramen to do such a suicidal and torturous thing.

"Gah!" Naruto exclaimed in a raspy voice as he through sweat drenched fists into the air. "I can't take it! Too dam hot! Waters hot! I'm hot!" He yelled all the while mentally cursing every little thing that had to do with deserts. "Hell I'm even out of water already!" He stated angrily as he glared daggers at his empty canteen which hung innocently at his side.

"Naruto... Calm done. I'm out too!" Neji stated, also not pleased with their current predicament, yet he held a calm aura about him. "I think its time to bring in some rain." He added with a smile causing his companion to smirk as well.

"**Water Type-Aquatic Shower!**" Naruto yelled as he preformed the necessary hand seals. They both waited in silence. "Where are my rain clouds?" Naruto questioned after a few moments before frowning.

"No idea..." He stated, the heat making it harder and harder to think clearly. "Try again." He ordered as a frown suddenly graced his handsome features.

"Right...** Water Type-Aquatic Shower!**" He exclaimed once more, yet nothing happened. "What's going on, why won't it work! It took me ages to get this technique to work!" He complained with an agitated pout.

"Try a different move." Neji ordered after a moment of silent thinking.

"Kay... **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" ((Shadow Clone Technique)) He exclaimed, but yet again nothing happened. "Uh...Neji...?" He asked uncertainly.

"I think...this desert suppressing our chakra, making us unable to use it..." He summed up before looking his comrade in the eyes, one word on both their minds. 'shit'.

"We are out of water..." Naruto stated calmly while his companion nodded. "I suppose... we have no choice but to keep going... I just hope we can last long enough without water...' He said the last part quietly and together they nodded in determination.

They treaded forward for hours, both determined to put their training as shinobi to the test. Both of them were tired, cranky, thirsty, and even beginning to hallucinate. Naruto could have sworn he saw Kakashi standing in the distance dressed in a grass skirt and a coconut bra, doing some type of jig that just seemed wrong. Thankfully the image had disappeared soon enough, but not soon enough to not scar the innocent fox-teen.

"Neji..." Naruto muttered raspily as dark blotches began eating away at his vision.

"...yea?" His companion asked utterly exhausted while mentally going through the likeliness of them surviving this desert, and the chances were less then slim.

"I...don't...feel so... good..."Naruto stated as his vision completely disappeared and he crumbled heavily to the sand with a thud that seemed so quiet in the opened space of sand, sand and can you believe it, more sand.

"Naruto!" Neji exclaimed as wide as he spun to the side to see his partner down, though he shouldn't have moved so fast. The Hyuuga grew unbelievably paler as his vision started spinning before, he too felt the impact of the ground before he knew no more.

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Well that is it for this chapter, and I apologize for being evil and leaving it as a cliff hanger. Please review with positive OR negative comments. Thank you!


	8. Poison and Swords

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor anything retaining to said series. But I wish I did. . 

**Pairings:** All Pairings are listed on the last list I put them on and will only change should I decide upon altering the pairings at a later date.

**Warnings:** This fic is a yaoi based one, but there may be some minor yuri, but I'm not sure yet. Also, as this is a story based on a ninja anime their will be violence and course language, plus mature subjects.

**A/N: I'd like to thank all my faithful reviewers, and all those who added my name to favorite authors lists, or my story to favorite stories for you all have made my day. Once again I offer this chapter up to all my reviewers. Before I start I just thought I'd inform you that I have my very kind and smart editor working to correct all earlier chapters, I will put at the top of each chapter a little notice if it has been modified. Also there is not point in rereading these chapters as nothing new has been added, just spelling and grammar alterations have been done. Thank you and on with chapter 8!**

**Ps: I am sorry for the wait, finals are overly troublesome, plus I got a new job, meaning my updates will be slower, but I'll try my hardest to get them up and out for you all to read.**

**Chapter 8**

Neji lied still, eyes closed, drifting in and out of feverish dreams. He saw many strange images dancing across his closed eyelids, images he had never before seen and others he had seen many times prior.

Everything seemed to move in a strange but rapid dance, only allowing him brief flashes that would disappear within moments of their appearance. They went so quickly that he had not time to grasp the images nor the meaning in his delirious state.

He heard many things, words and sentences strung together delicately, yet still making no sense to the sun struck teen.

His body felt sore, stiff from lack of use. His muscles seemed almost to have been carved of stone; reluctant to move even in the slightest. His head was pounding with the force of a rampaging herd of savage critters. Heck, Neji's migraine was worse then any hang over could even dream of being. All in all he felt horrid.

He tried to swallow, though found it to be a laborious task. One that reminded him of the dryness of both his mouth and throat. The taste of dirt was strong on his tongue, making it feel as though some buffoon had tried to feed him a sandwich, literally.

When silence had beat in on him for countless hours later, his pale eyes slowly opened, the grit in his tear ducts irritating. Slowly he brought his stiff hand up and wiped away the offending dirt particles, his fever now gone. 'Where...' He thought tiredly to himself as he sat up, very slowly taking in his surroundings.

Neji felt relatively well after having dozed on and off for countless hours in his feverish state, and now his mind numbing sun sickness had worn off, leaving his flesh still stiff, but otherwise he was fine.

His eyes looked on at the tent wall before him, which was lit by a dim light, either the rising or setting of the sun, he wasn't sure. The tent looked to be a medical tent of sorts, filled with several beds, many first-aid goods and herbs. The air even had that medical scent to it, which was just plain odd as they were in a tent.

Pale eyes landed on the white linen bed beside him, taking note that he wasn't alone in this place. On the bed lay the blond fox, whose cheeks were flushed with obvious fever as sweat beaded everywhere on his visible skin. On the teen's forehead rested a white cloth, one obviously soaked with cold water to try and get his temperature down.

With worried eyes he stumbled stiffly out of his relatively comfortable bed and hobbled noiselessly over to his friend's bedside. "...Naru...to..." He whispered, his voice but a low raspy sound from both lack of use and lack of moisture.

As he arrived at the bedside, he too the blonde's warm sweaty hand into his own and squeezed it gently while his all seeing eyes roamed the span of his companion's face. Up close he could easily see the sweat and dirt on his skin, looking like he had gotten caught up in some muddy battle. If the blond were awake and well the look would have been undeniably adorable, but as he was still unwell, Neji could only be worried.

The dark haired teen observed his friend's deep yet troubled breathing, watching almost mesmerized as delicate pink lips moved slightly with each breath. It was very intriguing to watch.

He could feel his heart beat accelerate, and his cheeks to burn as tingling warmth glowed in his body. 'Wha...' He trailed off as his attention was snapped from his thoughts to his friend, as the burning feverish cheeks returned to their natural tanned glory while his irregular breathing became normal. 'Just like that...amazing.' Neji concluded with a smile as the blond lost all traces of his previous illness.

Eye lids fluttered, and gorgeous golden eyelashes quivered slightly before startling blue eyes with an indigo rim, slowly opened. The owner of said eyes blinked to clear the morning haziness, and smiled up at the seemingly apathetic features of his comrade. "Morning..." The blond mumbled tiredly before stifling a small and utterly adorable yawn.

The dirt, the yawn and the morning doe-eyes of the blond was overwhelmingly adorable, causing pink to tinge the Hyuuga's fair cheeks. "Good morning Naruto." He greeted back with a look of relief and something else in his pale practically impossible to read eyes.

"What happened?" Naruto questioned as he brought a shaky hand up to his face to rub the dirt from his eyes out.

"We collapsed from the extreme heat and lack of water." Neji summed up having grasped that fact instantaneously upon his awakening.

"Oh...You okay then?" The blond questioned as he ran slowly sat up on his warm bed.

"Yes. Yourself?" The Hyuuga asked as he searched his friend's face for any signs that indicated him still being unwell.

"Yup! I am half demon after all." The blind summed up.

"Forgot about that..." Neji stated with a light pink tint to his cheek, being thoroughly embarrassed that he had forgotten such an important detail, not to mention the giant give-away of that truth: his tail.

Just then a warm but cozy breeze penetrated the tent causing both handsome teens to look over in the direction that the wind had originated from.

At the tent's flap stood a burly looking women dressed in a thick wool dress of a brownish color. She had broad shoulders and stood tall, far taller then the two teens within the tent. Her hair was a mahogany brown with reddish highlights from the constant sunlight. Her skin bore a deep tan belaying the fact that she had faced many outdoor hours bellow the relentless sun. Her eyes were a deep brown bordering on black, though they had a kind shin to them.

"I see you both are awake." The woman stated kindly as she step towards them and began looking them over much like a doctor would.

"Uh..." Naruto began as he watched her check his pulse, "who are you?"

"My name is Kaila. The head healer within my tribe." The woman now know as Kaila introduced politely.

"My name's Naruto, and he is Neji." Naruto replied back and the woman nodded.

"It is a pleasure to meet you two boys. Though I have to scold you both for venturing into the desert without the propre rations." Kaila said with a deep frown which accented her already deep wrinkles despite her youth.

"It's not our fault!" The blond protested with a pout as he crossed his arms over his chest in a sulking manner. "We had plenty of water but it vanished the second we stepped into this inferno! Plus out backup plan failed cause we couldn't use our chakra!" He explained.

"Hush child." Kaila said sternly yet still kindly. "It's alright. You are just lucky my husband and my brother came across you two while patrolling the area." She said matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't have lasted long out there with sun stroke and dehydration. Not to mention the beasts that would have enjoyed having you for dinner once the sun set." She added as an after thought.

"Okay, okay! I get the point." The blond muttered dejectedly causing the young woman to chuckle lightly.

"Now boys how about I get you some food then prepare a bath for you?" She half suggested half questioned, and immediately the blue-eyed demon teen perked up.

"Yeah! I'm starving." He exclaimed causing Neji to sigh.

"You are always starving." The dark haired Hyuuga stated exasperated.

"Your point?" Naruto questioned with a sly smirk as he tilted his head childishly to the side causing Neji to sigh a second time.

"My aren't you two entertaining." She said with a smile. "I'll be back with some food shortly." She stated as she turned and exited the tent through the flap.

"She seems nice enough." Naruto stated honestly causing Neji to nod. "How long until you think she gets back?" He questioned after a moment of silence.

"At least five minutes. Why?" Neji asked curiously as he looked over to his companion.

"**Kage Bunshin no jutsu!**" The blond said while doing the propre hand seals and yet again nothing happened.

"This entire desert blocks our chakra from escaping our bodies. Meaning that our duration here would be best spent learning taijutsu." Neji summed up as he sat down on the corner of the blond's bed.

"Yeah... I guess you are right. But first I want to eat and have a bath. I have sand in places the sun never shines." He mumbled the last part to himself, but his companion had heard it causing him to blush.

"A bath would be nice." He agreed calmly while pushing his blush down.

The tent flap opened once more and in walked Kaila laden with food, followed by another woman; one that looked identical to her. "Naruto, Neji, this is my twin sister Kaili. Kaili this is Neji and Naruto." She did the introductions and the other woman who also had food in hand merely nodded in greeting her dark eyes sharp and piercing.

"Nice to meet you." Naruto said nervously, not all comfortable under the piercing look. Neji on the other hand remained passive and silently studied this twin of Kaila.

Kaili merely nodded a second time before setting her tray of food on the table next to Naruto's bed before departing. Kaila released a sigh. "Sorry about her. She doesn't take kindly to strangers, since the last person we rescued for heat exhaustion wasn't mentally stable and ended up killing her lover." She explained and both teens nodded in understanding.

Kaila likewise set her tray down on the table before turning and walking towards the tent flaps. "I'm off to tend to a few of my duties, eat up and once I return I'll show you to where you two can bathe." she said kindly.

"Thank you." Neji bowed politely but she merely waved it off before walking out.

"Food!" Naruto exclaimed without a second thought as he pounced into the nearest chair at the table. "Oh my Gods! Oh my Gods!" He exclaimed in a gush of happy squeals which caused Neji to nervously regard his friend. "Ramen! They have ramen! Oh my Gods!" He shouted happily before grabbing a set of rough chopsticks and tearing into the nearest bowl of steaming ramen.

The Hyuuga merely blinked before shrugging and joining the blond at the table where he too ate, but at a slower and far more elegant pace then Naruto.

Their meal passed by quickly, and just as they finished their excellently prepared meal Kaila returned. "Since you both are done lets go." She stated kindly as she pulled two fluffy brown towels out of a cupboard before leading the two ninja's outside and into the village.

The town was small but still utterly gorgeous in its own unique way. Small domes of sand, most likely homes were built close together, blending in well with the sandy environment. Beautiful glass works encased the area with stunning glass artwork which easily tore the two ninja's breath away. A fountain sprouted shimmering-clear water which cast a small rainbow where the sunlight struck the airborne water droplets.

Small children ran about playing games, they're brown cloaks stylish and intriguing. Laughter dominated the air as adults wondered about relatedly, keeping careful eyes on the children.

"It's beautiful..." Naruto mumbled in sheer awe as his eyes caught sight of a tall fortress like wall which encircled the entire prosperous village that one would have assumed to be poor judging by its location.

"Thank you." Kaila said with a kind smile. "It is our greatest treasure." She said after a moment, feeling able to trust the two strangers for reasons unknown to her. "Right. This is the bath house." She stated while motioning to a rather large and impressive looking sand dome that had many stained glass windows scattered creatively across its surface.

"Wow..." The blond whispered in a breath of awe and his dark haired companion could only nod in agreement having never before seen something quite like it despite living in a luxurious home belonging to the Hyuuga main and branch families.

The woman chuckled lightly before gently ushering the two inside where they were immediately shown to the men's side of the bathing house.

An hour later they met back up with the kind Kaila who then lead them back towards the tent.

"I've been meaning to ask: Why is it that your medical 'building' is a tent while all other structures here are formed of some sort of earthly material?" The Hyuuga prodigy questioned, earning himself a smile courtesy of the young women who had been tending to them.

"Ah! Excellent observation!" She exclaimed almost glad that questioned had been brought up. "About three months back I had a small tiny little hut of a workplace, but with the growing population and wandering strangers we seem to get, its just too small to tend to all medical needs. So my husband, who is tribe leader of our village, has commissioned some mean to build a better place which will be more accommodating for our needs and supply us with extra space that would be useful in emergency situations." She concluded with a happy smile, obviously thrilled at the prospect that her husband is getting her a far better building for medical business.

"That would be useful in the future. You must have a very kind and caring husband." Naruto commented as he crossed his arms behind his head, his damp hair shining a deep golden color.

"Yes." She said with a look of content on her face. "He is indeed kind and caring. One of the best tribe leaders we've ever had if you as me." She said with a happy smile as they reentered the tent.

"Bye!" Naruto said cheerfully as he waved at the group clustered at the village's gates as both be and Neji left. They had spent half a month there, for their stop had been most enlightening.

Due to the deserts strange ability to lock away chakra, the two were able to train in strict taijutsu ways, gaining assistance from many of the men within the village. Many were kind enough to spar with the two and some even kinder to teach them new techniques and methods to develop further skills later on down the road.

At first the village had been reluctant to associate with them, but that all changed on their second night there when a rogue pack of desert hounds--colossal beasts with poisoned fangs and razor claws who had scaly hides can handle much damage--attacked. Naruto and Neji fought with all their ninja abilities and easily toppled the group of five hounds easily. Thus they gained the respect of all the villagers, even Kaila's twin came around.

All thanks to those hounds, whose hides, bones and meat were put to use, the two were accepted and welcome within the desert village and learnt taijutsu skills and moves that would even give Rock Lee a run for his money, but they were still ages away from Gai's level.

They silently walked further and further away from the village in the heart of the desert, the perilous heat no longer effected them as they had gotten used to such smouldering heat during their stay, but both were looking forward to getting out as the stopper on the chakra was highly frustrating.

"How do you think everyone is?" Naruto asked as he crossed his arms behind his neck as his indigo rimmed blue eyes looked ahead to the horizon, trying to catch even the smallest of glimpses of the cool lands beyond, or anything that indicated anything else besides sand, sand and more sand.

"Troubled..." Neji began as a pensive look graced his features, " I believe that they would more then likely believe us dead as we have been gone a far time." He said somberly as he chanced a glance at his blond companion.

"Thought so... but I guess we'll just have to get a camera for our return, their faces will be classic and the papers will read 'Dead shinobi back from the grave.' or something along those lines." He said in a cheerful voice, though if one listened closely they would have noted the pain hidden beneath the words.

Neji merely shook his head having no comment nor any gestures of comfort as they ascended a massive sand dune that towered over the area, one that would provide shade to any so long as the sun is not at its peek as that is the hour of no shadows.

The climbed without a word over the soft but large mound of fine golden sand before reaching the peak where they stopped to take in the sight before them.

About three leagues ahead of them stood a field filled with luscious looking emerald grass which stretched on for ages. And if one were to have excellent enough eye sight, they could spot a small shimmering patch that was likely water at the far end of the field. "Unless that is a mirage," He paused for a second as he recalled the first mirage he had the misfortune of seeing before continuing, " I'd say we are nearly to the field before the Great Serpent Lake." Naruto mumbled.

"It is no mirage if both you and I see an identical sight." Neji stated as he moved forward and moved down the steep but very slippery side of the sand dune.

"Wait up!" The blond said as he began his descent as well, though he had only managed to go a few paces before his boot clad feet slipped on the dirt and he tumbled down head over heals down the side of it, reaching the base long before Neji had gone down more then five meters.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" The dark haired ninja inquired as he used his grace to sprint lightly down the sand dune so that he hurriedly arrived at the blond demon vessels side.

"Peachy..." The blond muttered sarcastically as he glared up at the Hyuuga. His eyes widened suddenly and he released a squeak as he shot up as though suddenly electrocuted. "What the..." He trailed off as he looked at a little black scorpion that stood where his arm once was before the thing scurried off and burrowed into the sand and out of sight.

"Naruto..." Neji began his voice filled with concern. "it didn't sting you, did it?" He asked as his naturally pale face--which remained untanned despite the climate--turned more pale then ever.

"Uh..." The blond trailed off as he looked at his arm where a vicious green and purple colored cut stood out clearly. "Yea... It got me and good, damn. Did you catch which type of scorpion that one was?" He inquired as he looked up from the sting to his friend.

"Shit!" The Hyuuga prodigy cursed. "That was an Emperor Scorpion, and they are very venomous... Shit." He muttered as his companion visibly paled.

"Maybe there is someone adept with venoms and cures located in that village just a mile off the far side of the lake." Naruto suggested as he wearily eyed his small but likely deadly wound. "I... damn it suddenly got cold out..." He changed his line of speech, but the words had barely escaped his throat before the pale eyed man pressed his hand to his companions forehead before muttering a variety of colorful curses.

"Naruto the venom is already kicking in! Hop on!" He stated as he moved in front of the tailed teen and kneeled into a position that would make it easier for someone who was about to receive a piggy back to climb on. Without so much as a complaint the teen clambered onto the Hyuuga's back, before said ninja stood and started to run in the direction of the field, hoping against hope he'd make it to the village in time, otherwise... he didn't even want to think about it.

It took just over thirty minutes for the Hyuuga prodigy to reach the deserts edge and when he stepped from sand to luscious grass he felt as though he had walked through a wall of heat and out into a chilly, but pleasant area that housed a comfortable temperature. There he stopped for a short break as he hurriedly worked on catching his breath and pointedly ignored his muscles' protests. He had limited time.

With a quick breath he managed to regain his breathing and was off sprinting once more, this time towards the lake which loomed a silvery color in the distance. The edge of the lake seemed to almost merge with the sky above in the distance, though it was only such an illusion as he was still a couple dozen leagues from its shores.

The run between the scorching desert and the lake was by far more easier to the dark haired teen, as breathing in the cool temperature was far better on his lungs, and it also helped that a breeze blew gently around him helping to keep him from over heating and feeling dizzy as he couldn't afford to collapse from heat, dizziness nor from anything else.

He ran faster, thanking every god out there for having his chakra returned to him as it had felt aa though he was short something very important. If in the future he were to sometime return in this direction, he would avoid the sand lands like the plague, and he was positive his companion would feel the same. "Hang on Naruto..." He mumbled quietly and more so to himself as the blond had long since lost consciousness, meaning the words were falling of deaf ears.

'Finally!' He mentally cheered as he arrived the lake's edge, and stopped as he was inches from the water. "Boat...boat...boat...boat..." He mumbled under his breath as his chest heaved with the effort to speak and gain the needed air into his lungs.

Pale eyes scanned the shores to his left and right and he cursed silently at not seeing a soul or boat or any raft like materials anywhere on this side of the lake. He'd have to find another way across, and he had an idea in mind but he had never before tried it; water walking.

As he gained control of his breathing his iridescent eyes slid closed and his face adorned a mask of neutrality as he slipped into deep meditation while standing. Several beads of sweat dripped down his neck as he focused diligently on what he was about to do. With on deep breath he reopened his eyes and pushed his chakra smoothly and skillfully into the souls of his feet and then he took his first step onto the water's rippling surface taking great care to make sure his chakra wisely moved and flexed with the rippling waves of the silvery water.

He took a few tentative steps forward, wobbling horribly as he frowned in pure concentration as this task was far more difficult then handless tree climbing and he mentally thanked his uncle for explaining the theory behind this skill.

About a meter out, his concentration flickered and his left foot sank a foot and a half bellow surface level before he hurriedly leapt into the air and refocused his chakra before landing back on the seemingly solid liquid surface. With a sigh of relief that he hadn't gone under, the handsome young man began to run at a comfy pace as to not strain his chakra concentration so that he had no need to fear falling into the silvery depths below.

A strange high pitched noise reached his ears causing him to come to a halt and examen the area around him. There was nothing there, the sun shone, the clouds hovered lazily in the sky and the gently breeze blew gentle ripples across the liquid bed, though the sound continued without an obvious to find source.

Neji shifted Naruto higher up on his back while focusing the smaller teen's weight onto his left side as he released his grip with the right hand. In a slow but well calculated move the Hyuuga withdrew a kunai from his holster as he looked each way while placing the kunai sideways in his teeth before resuming his hold on the blond demon teen.

His ninja senses kicked in and caused him to look down and his eyes to widen. With a great leap the Hyuuga went airborne, though it was only seconds before a massive water serpent lunged out of the water with its mouth wide and gleaming fangs showing, had he not moved both he and the blond would have been dinner.

With the creature above water, the high pitched whine was far louder, and it easily drowned out all other noises and caused the ninja to wince in pain at the sheer volume. The creature, having noticed it missed its prey, changed its direction so that it could dive back below the water and prepared another attack.

The massive waves caused by it reentering the water were too much for the Hyuuga to handle being just a novice at the art of water walking and so both he and Naruto plummeted down into the water's dark depths.

In the downwards rush, Neji had lost his hold on his friend just as the massive fanged beast came around for another go at his targeted prey. Mentally cursing Neji's hands flew through a set of highly complicated hand seals before he mental shouted, '**_Suiton Daibukufu no jutsu!_**' ((Water type- Explosion Skill))

A massive sideways cyclone shot out from him as he finished the last seal, and it shot its mass of swirling currents straight at the serpent's head and pushing the monstrous sea beast back, though it did try and fight.

Moving his eyes away from the cyclone and the snake, he looked around for his companion. Within seconds he spotted the sinking body of the blond and without a second's thought, he swam off towards him, ignoring the burning in his oxygen deprived lungs.

He neared the teen hurriedly, and once within ranged he managed to grab hold of Naruto's hand and began swimming while fighting off the lightheadedness and the spots that were assaulting his vision. He swam with all his might, doubling his efforts to drag both Naruto and himself to the surface, the former feeling like a massive bag of extremely heavy potatoes, but he was determined.

As Neji broke the surface he took in a massive gasp of air as he pulled his friend's head above the surface. With a look of pure fear the Hyuuga noted that the blonde was in no way breathing and he cursed loudly before focusing his chakra once more into his feet and he leapt out of the water with the blond in his arms.

As soon as he landed he took off with all the speed he could muster while on the water, having a surge of pure adrenaline course through his body as his need to arrive at land grew larger. He needed to get there fast, not only to escape the serpent, but also to preform CPR on his no longer breathing fox friend.

The serpent lunged out of the water to his right, its front massive fang scraping against his thigh before he skimmed over to the side to avoid being gobbled down by the brute. He continued running as he heard the creature reenter the water sending waves of water at him that he just barely managed to stay standing on.

With a grunt, Neji moved the blond from his arms to his left shoulder as he pulled out three kunai with a tine piece of paper on it. He leapt into the air just as the serpent lunged out from below him, and he spun a 180 before launching on of the kunai which struck the creature in the forehead and exploded in a burst of golden flames.

The hiss and screech of pain was loud and disturbing, but as soon as the Hyuuga's boot clad feet hit the water he continued running, not even looking back to see if he had successfully killed it. He soon learnt that he hadn't killed it as it lunged out of the water to his side, its eyes completely burned and bloody with black sizzling blood and a huge chunk of its face was missing causing its mouth to appear larger and far more intimidating.

Without a second's hesitation he launched the second kunai at the brute and it, like the first connected, though it struck the beast in the throat causing a spray of black boiling blood to fly out along with the fire caused by the attached exploding note. "Die already..." He muttered to himself as he spotted the shore line just ahead.

He pressed himself harder and within seconds his feet hit the shoreline and he gently set the blond down before pressing his mouth to the slightly blue lips of his unnaturally pale companion.

Neji blew into the demon bearer's mouth three times before pressing down on the chest and repeated the process. He did that five times and just as he was about to panic and start the sixth, the boy below him sputtered out the water in his lungs and breathed in air greedily, though he remained unconscious from his earlier dose of scorpion venom.

A sigh of relief escaped the pale teen as his friend came back to the living, but it was short lived as a piercing high pitched hiss cut through the air as a wave of water rose with the still living but utterly mutated and heavily bleeding serpent who lunged down at them.

Eyes wide, the Hyuuga wrapped his left arm around the blond before rolling both of them to the side causing them to just barely avoid the sea serpent as he threw the last kunai in hand at the creature and forced himself and Naruto to roll further as the note exploded in a second wave of black blood.

"Third times a charm..." The prodigy muttered as he watched the snake crumple dead, the mutilated top half of its dark purple body laying in a gathering pool of bubbling blood where the two boys had been mere seconds before, and the still perfectly intact part of the serpent was in the water, stretching for who knew what length.

Neji groaned as he rolled off his unconscious and poisoned friend, and his cheeks were a bright crimson though his expression was unreadable. In a fluid move he was kneeling beside the blond and with a grunt of light effort he heaved the blond bridle style into his strong yet gentle arms. "Hang on Naruto... There is a village just over that way, don't die..." He whispered desperately to his companion before once more racing off, the adrenaline coursing through his veins working as a speed amplifier.

He moved quickly, and he shortly arrived at a small little village with huts for buildings and a somewhat busy marketplace filled with merchants desiring gold and rare trinkets, and shoppers seeking the best of goods. Neji jogged over to a small woman who held a small baby in her arms.

"Excuse...me Mam... but could you tell me where...the... nearest healer is?" He questioned out of breath and the young woman took a step back in shock before pointing wordlessly to the hut to her left. "Thank you." He said relieved as he hurriedly entered into the hut and came face to face with an aged man who held a wooden walking staff.

"Come in, what is ailing you?" The man asked in a voice filled with rasping age.

"My friend was stung by a scorpion." Neji stated.

"What kind?" The man scurried forward and squinted down at the ghostly pale young man.

"The Emperor Scorpion." He answered causing the male to drastically pale.

"I have not the skill to deal with such a lethal poison." The man sadly admitted causing fear to well up in the Hyuuga.

"There has to be _someone_ who can help?" The dark haired beauty demanded with a note of desperation in his voice.

"Not a soul in Apengale can challenge such a horrifying venom... but, there is a village none too far from here, and it houses a tribe of queer creatures called the Pinopes. They are small folk but have the ability to counter any and all poisons and venoms. However no human could reach that village in time, and judging by your friend's looks, he has a little over an hour to live." The man somberly informed Neji with sorrow filled eyes.

"If there is a chance to save him I will take it as he would do the same for me." Neji said in a steely voice before saying a thank you and rushing out of the hut. He knew the basic location of the mentioned village as he had earlier studied the many maps. The village he was headed to was called Pinopia, and it was located several miles in the Looming Sky Forest.

He ran, thankful for the adrenaline that still pumped savagely through his lean body, and he moved with all the speed and grace of a ninja. He was damn tired, but he wouldn't relent in his forced pace. Neji ignored his screaming muscles and stiffening limbs, pretending to not feel the burning of his lungs which wished desperately for more air. The loud thumping of his heart seemed to echo through his head, bringing on a painful headache, but he wouldn't let anything slow him down.

Within twenty minutes he passed the tree line into the forest filled with towering trees, though he didn't take time to admire his surroundings as they passed by in a blur of earthly colors.

He ran and he ran, never slowing as time trickled further and further away, leading his friend closer and closer to his end.

In a last burst of strength he rushed into a small village, and knowing he was at the right place he stumbled exhausted and tripped ending out sprawled out on the ground and unconscious. He had made it to the village, the rest was up to the Pinopes.

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"Sasuke, Shikamaru." The Hokage nodded in greeting towards the two ninja who had just walked into her office in answer to her summoning of them. "I suppose you are wondering why I have asked you two to come here?" She stated more then asked, though the question was still slightly audible, and it earned her twin nods. "Well, I have a mission for the two of you." She said by way of basic explanation.

"Here is the information file." She stated before handing the two of them twin copies, which they immediately opened. "This will be a reconnaissance mission in the land of Waves. Your job will be to retrieve an artifact that lies within the village hidden in the Mist; The Sword of Anagway. It is an immensely powerful blade, but fortunately it has a safety," she paused for a moment allowing them to study the picture of the weapon within the folders, "it is extremely choosey about who can wield it, and hasn't found a worthy match in over five thousand years."

"Intelligence in the land of Waves, inform us that it is heavily guarded in the lowest dungeon within the Hokage tower, watched by elite level ninja's and patrolled regularly by jounin leveled guards. In that folder is the exact layout of the tower, marked with all entrance and exit points, security measures, and guard patrols. Meaning if you do this right it should be a breeze." She summed up in a nut shell.

"I am certain you are curious as to why I had paired the two of you up and the reason for that is quite simple. Shikamaru is the best tactitional mind within our lands, while Sasuke is the strongest of the available ninja here. Any questions?" She inquired as she placed her elbows on her desk and leaned her chin onto her upwards facing palms.

"Is there a time limit?" Sasuke asked while the jounin leveled genius merely slouched, obviously not looking forward to doing this mission as it would seriously cut into his napping and cloud watching times.

"No, though it would be best to get this done quickly as to not run into any unforseen problems. If that is all, I bid you farewell and good luck. You will leave in an hour." Tsunade finished and as both young men had no comment or questioned she beckoned for them to leave which they did without a single word.

"I hope," Tsunade began quietly as the office door closed with a barely audible click, " that this mission does not end like the last mission retrieval one. Leaf wouldn't be able to handle the loss of two power ninja like them, like Neji and Naruto were destined to be..." She said sadly, wondering if the blond haired ninja was alright or not. "Good luck." She whispered on a silent breath before once more indulging herself into the legal work of the Hokage.

"Let me see what weapons and items you have in your bag." Shikamaru stated as Sasuke appeared next to him, but an hour after the meeting with the Hokage herself. Without hesitation, the Uchiha handed it over and watched disinterestedly as the genius went through the things for future reference and strategy planning.

Once his snooping was complete he placed everything back within the black bag before handing it back to his partner for the mission. "Let's go." Sasuke stated as he slipped his pack onto his back once more before turning and leading the way out through the towering gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

This mission wouldn't be easy.

And so they walked at a slightly quicker then normal pace on the dirt road towards the Land of Waves, traveling a route once traveled before by Sasuke when he was still a genin. 'Naruto...' His mind whispered as he recalled the mission which had taken them ages to complete. The very one that he had been defeated for the first time in a true battle.

It was a painful memory. Falling to Haku, the weapon of Zabuza. Every detail of that battle, well all that he had been conscious for, was forever engraved in his mind. He had lost, but he had used the knowledge of defeat to rise up to a whole new level and if Haku was still among the living, then he'd definitely bring the boy down no questions asked.

"You've been to Wave country before right?" The lazy ninja inquired as he crossed his arms behind his head and lazily walked, though he kept an unnoticed sharp eye out on his surroundings in case of traps of ambushes. It wouldn't do to get caught so soon on their mission.

"Yes. It was one of Team Seven's first missions. Ranked C, though due to lack of proper information it was actually much more difficult, a B or quite possibly even an A ranked one." Sasuke explained.

"The mission was to protect the bridge builder until the completion of the bridge?" Shikamaru asked as he worked on his data gathering.

Sasuke nodded, before silence fell over the two of them. Though it was discarded quickly as the two leapt to the trees and began racing towards their destination, moving without a sound or indication of their locations, making an unwanted guests unable to see, hear or find them.

'Damn it...' Sasuke inwardly cursed as he eyed the blade from his and his team mate's hidding spot. 'Tsunade-sama sure wasn't fooling around when she said that the sword would be heavily guarded.' He groaned silently as he eyed the four elite ninja who stood at the ready by the sword's stand, one almost concealing the engraved plaque attached to the sword's stand for the Leaf ninja.

_Grasp thin hilt,_

_'lloweth mine eyes see,_

_thoust's soul and heart._

_Should thee beith untrue,_

_Thou shalt not survive._

'Meaning: Whoever grips the hilt will have their souls and hearts searched and should they not meet requirements preordained, they will perish. In other words, if we touch the handle we'll likely die.' He inwardly sighed, knowing that Shikamaru had also read the inscription and was currently formulating a plan while observing the whole scene.

After several mintues of silence Shikamaru finally came up with an adequit plan. "I'll hold them off, you retrieve the sword." He whispered barely above a breath in his companion's ear, who merely nodded in understanding and prepared to leap into action.

**"Kage Mane no Jutsu!"** ((Shadow Immatation Technique)) Shikamaru whispered barely over a breathe as he moved through a series of entricate seals, which, once completly executed, sent out his shadow which latched onto the shadow's of the four enemy ninja, causing them to mime Shikamaru's stance. Sasuke, seeing the chance to grab it, leapt forward and snagged the weapon by the blade before stuffing it within his bag and then knocking the four motionless ninja out, with swift kicks to the side of the neck.

"Let's go." Sasuke said as Shikamaru relinquished his hold on the prone, no longer conscious and supposedly elite ninja who were by all means utterly pathetic. "I would have expected more of a challenge..." He muttered quietly to himself before following his partner off into the shadow as they hurriedly made their escape.

They slipped unnoticed from the tower and town long before the alarms went off signalling that the guards had either awoken or were discovered unmoving. The land of Waves was feeble in defense, no wonder they were so oppressed by organizations of grand scale moving into their territory.

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Well that's it for this chapter. Sorry part two was so short and rushed, but I thought it pointless to go into detail on it as it would only drag this story on longer then the 22 chapters I had already planned for its lenght, along with possible sequel should I recieve over 100 reviews.

Once again I appologize for the wait and thank you for reading, please review. .


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